Why babies absolutely need more media skills

18. October 2019

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If you spend too much time on your mobile phone, you have a problem. This applies not only to adults and adolescents, but also to very young children, says Dr Margarete Bolten in an interview. The psychologist treats the consequences of this in the consultation hours for crying, sleeping and feeding problems at UKBB. She has realised this: Many parents don't even know what they are doing when they let their children play mobile phone games or watch YouTube videos at a very early age. That's why Margarete Bolten wants to encourage parents to use these media carefully.

Margarete Bolten, even small babies are hugely fascinated by smartphones and tablets. How does that actually come about?

This has not yet been researched down to the last detail. But what we can already say: These apps and films that are available for children are all designed to maximally appeal to the pleasure centre in the brain. For example, with bright, intense colours, constantly repeating sounds and the prompt rewards that can be obtained in the game. Why the device itself fascinates even small babies is anyone's guess. However, they certainly observe how their parents use these devices themselves. That arouses interest. I think that parents also have a role model function that they are sometimes too little aware of.

What are the typical traps that parents fall into when using smartphones and tablets?

On the one hand, we realise that many parents are completely uncritical of these devices. As a result, I see babies, for example, who are not yet a year old but can already use a smartphone in a rudimentary way. They watch videos and use apps that act like a drug. The dopamine system is very strongly stimulated. It looks like this: The mobile phone lights up, the child lights up too - and is completely under the spell of this device.

"I've met children who have developed autistic behaviour because they've been so involved with these devices."

And what are other problematic forms that you encounter in the consultation?

There are also many parents who feel that they can provide their children with targeted support using specific apps. For example, they believe that their child can learn English earlier or similar with the help of learning apps.

A blatant misconception.

You are definitely not doing your child a favour. Not only has it been proven that children learn much better when a person, a real caregiver, teaches them something. Research also shows very clearly that increased media use has a negative impact on language and cognitive development, concentration, sleep and whether a child learns to regulate their emotions independently. In my clinical work, I have met children who have developed autistic behaviour because they were so heavily involved with these devices.

Fortunately, there are also parents who are concerned about their child's media consumption. And yet their child still comes into contact with their smartphone, for example with video calls or even a YouTube film that they are allowed to watch when they visit. When does consumption really become problematic?

There is no clear limit, it becomes harmful after so many minutes. In principle, contact with such devices is not problematic per se. What we encounter during consultation hours are extremes. Two-year-olds who are put to bed at 8 p.m. with an iPad and then stare at it for three hours until they fall asleep from exhaustion. Or children up to kindergarten age who spend hours during the day using apps that are supposed to encourage them. They might actually be able to count to ten in English. But they don't know the very basic things that a child of their age should actually be able to do.

During consultations, you also encounter cases where feeding disorders go hand in hand with problematic media use. How is this connected?

Many of the children we treat only eat in the eyes of their parents when certain conditions are created. Today, this happens primarily through distraction with media. If a film is playing on the mobile phone, the parents can feed the child. The problem with this is that they are tricking the child's consciousness so that it cannot consciously decide: "I'm eating now." This lack of awareness can then also become problematic in completely different contexts.

That sounds like an addiction.

There may be an addiction. In fact, the latest edition of the American classification system for mental illness includes computer game addiction as a new form of behavioural addiction. I am convinced that something like this can start as early as infancy.

In the past there were the so-called TV kids, today there are mobile phone kids. Aren't the problems practically the same?

I don't think television consumption can be compared with mobile devices at all. These videos and apps captivate children much more than what used to be on television. Everything was edited much more slowly, with much less visual stimulation. You also didn't have the opportunity to immerse yourself in this world around the clock. That only came with mobile devices and YouTube.

"I tell parents clearly what damage smartphones and tablets do to brain and behavioural development. Many are then initially shocked."

The problem of media consumption has therefore become much more acute since then. How can you help affected families in the infant consultation?

I ask them if I can be honest. And then I tell them clearly that, based on my clinical and scientific work, I know what damage smartphones and tablets do to brain and behavioural development. Many people are shocked at first. But that is precisely my aim. I want to shake parents up and motivate them to make a change. If you then decide to keep your child away from mobile phones, it's usually not that difficult. After all, there are plenty of ways to keep children occupied in a more meaningful way. Playing outside, for example. Then a child usually has no need for such devices at all

Sounds simple. Why hasn't everyone known for a long time that mobile phones can be harmful to small children?

Until now, there has simply been a lack of materials that could have been handed out to parents. Until now, experts have usually only published specific recommendations for children of primary school age and above. As if younger children had nothing to do with it! This is precisely why we, together with Céline von Wartburg from the Prevention Division of the Basel Department of Health developed a flyer, which gives parents simple but important tips on media use for 0 to 4-year-olds. On 29 October 2019, there will also be a Mental Health Action Days Basel there will be a public information evening for interested parties. The most important thing is for parents to be able to use these devices consciously. This is only possible if they are given the knowledge they need.

New online study on the topic

The University Psychiatric Clinics and the University of Basel want to investigate how the consumption of new media in the family affects the socio-emotional development of children. Parents with children between the ages of 2 and 16 are still being sought from November 2020. You can find out everything you need to know about taking part at the Website of the study.