SPEECH DELAYS LINKED TO TECHNOLOGY USE?

Written by: Caroline Meyer

There have been several studies done over the past couple of years in relation to the effect of smartphones and tablets on toddlers and babies when it comes to speech delays. A conclusive link between the use of handheld technology and language and speech delays, especially in expressive speech has been discovered. Even just a half hour of handheld technology daily can increase the risk of a speech delay by almost 50%. This was true for babies and toddlers from a variety of backgrounds. While further investigation and clinical trials still need to be done, the current studies have highlighted the need to reduce the use of technology such as these for very young children.

Technology has grown a lot of the part couple of decades and almost all households have some form of handheld device. For babies and infants under 2 years old, there is no real benefit from watching a 2D screen. While they might be engrossed in the colours and movement on the screen, they do not understand what they are seeing and there are no learning benefits from staring at the screen. For children under 18 months, screen time should be limited to video-calling only. This includes TV, PC and other technology. This may go a long way to reducing the risk of speech delays. Many children who are exposed to a lot of screen time as infants are unable to express themselves verbally as well as they should be able to. This often leads to attention seeking behaviours and frustration. Not being able to express their emotions verbally can also lead to them acting out. While it is possible for some children who experience speech delays to catch up, for some, this just does not happen.

Speech delays in early childhood can lead to potential academic issues later in life as well. Other risks include not getting enough sleep. Children that made use of technology from an early age slept less and took longer to fall asleep. The “blue light” from screens can disrupt the body clock and cause problems with sleep patterns. Technology should not be used as a babysitter. It is no substitute for human interaction. Allowing baby to play with the tablet for 5 minutes while you make a call or to listen to songs in the car on the way home to prevent screaming is fine. It is when the machine becomes part of the daily routine and the use exceeds 30 minutes a day, that it can become a problem. Don’t substitute human interaction with handheld devices. There are many ways to stimulate and interact with your toddler that will improve their skills as opposed to reducing their coping skills and language development.

Basic language development starts from infancy. Baby will make little sounds when tiny and will start to recognize objects. They will eventually respond to their own name and understand simple questions. They will learn to name objects and actions and by 3 years old, should have a vocabulary of over 1000 words. This leads to being able to have a conversation, understanding time (past, present, future) as well as learning Pronouns. The more involved parents are, the more a toddler’s vocabulary grows. Stimulating activities and games contributes even more to a child’s verbal development at an early age.

Research suggests that there should be no screen time from 0 to 18 months, under 30 minutes to 2 years and under an hour a day for children from 2 to 5 years. Even then, the screen time should be made up of high quality, educational games and programs and should be monitored by the parents. Rather spend time having a conversation, playing, reading and otherwise engaging with your toddler to stimulate expression through speech. Language filled activities are the best ways to improve speech and language as well as pick up any issues.

Suggested activities to improve speech and language development include:

Reading: Make story time interactive so that your child can also talk and get involved. Have your toddler tell you what they think might happen next. Help stimulate their imagination while developing their language skills.

Playing Board Games: Board games help with more than just language. They teach a range of cognitive and emotional behaviours. Play appropriate games suitable for their skill levels to reduce frustration. This will stand them in good stead later in life having learned how to play with others, lose well and win well.

Play Dress Up: This is another activity that stimulates a range of skills. Let your toddler dress up and talk like their imaginary characters. This game improves co-ordination, cognitive abilities as well as speech development.

Go For A Walk: Take a stroll and have your toddler name things (you can help when they don’t know), count items, say colours, groups the items fall in to (such as ducks are birds) and any other form of word play. This will help improve their vocabulary, understanding and speech development.

Car Chat: Just as you can talk while walking, you can also do some chatting in the car. You may not be able to look around as much, but you can let your toddler tell you what they see. Ask them questions and engage with them, even if you can’t understand everything they are saying at this point.

There are many other, creative ways of keeping your toddler busy, happy and developing at the right pace. This isn’t to say that technology does not have its place and in later years you may be rather grateful for an hour of peace, but restricted technology in the formative years is important to stimulating your child’s language and speech development. Restricting or cutting out phones, PCs, laptops, tablets, TV etc. before the age of 2 and certainly making it minimal until at least 5 years of age will help reduce the risk of language and speech delays for your little one.