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iPad to paper pad to 'de-addict' children

Sharjah - Even though an entry into the digital world is inevitable, it could be detrimental to the mental health and well-being of children who are using technology as a major tool of entertainment at a very young age.

Tablets and laptops have replaced pacifiers and stuffed toys for children. Research has also revealed that toddlers can use a tablet before he learns to walk or speak.
Even though an entry into the digital world is inevitable, it could be detrimental to the mental health and well-being of children who are using technology as a major tool of entertainment at a very young age.
Recognising the need to curb technology addiction among small children, Dr Binu Chempakaserry Balan, specialist psychiatrist at Al Fasht Medical Center in Sharjah, began running digital detox camps for children as young as four years old. "Children need to be physically and mentally challenged. Devices are not the best way to keep them active," said Dr Balan.
"Children start showing symptoms like sleep deprivation, poor performance in school, and in extreme cases they start showing physical responses like shaking, sweating and throwing tantrums in public places when the device is taken away from them," said Dr Binu.
Parents of very young children said that they are also finding it hard to keep their child entertained and busy. Divya Narwani, an Indian national and mother of one-year-old Ashrith Keswani, said: "I try and keep him away from devices as much as I can. Sometimes it becomes impossible to do so. He already knows that swiping his finger over the screen a mobile screen results in some electronic activity and he is fascinated by it."
- Dhanusha Gokulan