Smartphones and tablets should be off-limits to children with less … – Diário de Notícias – Lisbon

Neuropsicólogo Spanish Álvaro Bilbao argues that television “causes less harm”

The neuropsicólogo Spanish Álvaro Bilbao argues that the screens should be off-limits to children up to three years. The stimuli fast, and the immediate rewards of the ‘tablets’ and ‘smartphone’ kill the curiosity, it warns.

In his book “The brain of the child explained to the parents,” launched this month in Portugal, Álvaro Bilbao left blank chapter 25, designed to rank the best technological applications for children up to six years.

“I am Sorry to say that I have not found any that is useful for the development of intellectual and emotional of children of these ages,” says the author, has a phd in Health Psychology and trained in Neuropsychology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in the United States.

In an interview with the Lusa news agency during his stay in Portugal to present his book, the specialist in brain plasticity reminiscent of the numerous studies that have shown that children who are exposed too early to new technologies are more likely to develop attention deficit, behavior problems and school failure.

DR

But the screens are not all the same. For Álvaro Bilbao, the tv “deals less damage” because it allows for a greater passivity.

it May seem a contrassenso to the parents that a tool that is “more passive” is less harmful, but it is the rapidity of the pace of interaction and the amount of stimulus of the new technologies that are of most concern to the expert.

“The children are given many stimuli visually attractive and have many rewards fast. Spend your finger on the screen and have a premium. In real life it is not so; in real life the teacher is not is so visually colorful, does not move so quickly, and is not constantly enhance the child”.

in addition, the speed and amount of stimuli received by the new technologies do not allow you to train the attention, nor the patience.

The tvs are always more passive and activate brain waves that help you relax. Even so, also, the television must be dosed, says Bilbao, allowing for short periods of time and delaying as much as possible in age.

“Lots of stimulation kills curiosity, a child who receives a lot of information saturates and no longer like to explore and learn. Already a curious child is the one that likes to learn. Do not kill the curiosity”, he asks the neuropsicólogo.

Álvaro Bilbao will encourage the adults to reflect on their own use of new technologies; “Use ‘smartphones a few years ago. How many of us are noticing more intelligent for it? And, now, how many of us feel less patient?”.