Singaporean children at higher risk of ...

[Lmws214]

Singaporean children at higher risk of speech and language delays due to excessive screen time

 

https://www.asiaone.com/digital/singaporean-children-higher-risk-speech-and-language-delays-due-excessive-screen-time?xtor=EREC-16-4%5BEmarsys_Newsletter%5D-20190724&extid=6934d0cfb7b252f1ae9f0dbddf5ff88ca8637e77

 

 

In today’s increasingly digitised landscape, it’s nigh-impossible to escape the harsh white light emanating from the screens of electronic displays. It’s harder than ever before for the kids of today not to get exposed to internet-connected gizmos from a tender young age. Unless they’re living off-grid, that is. 

 

It’s something that speech and language therapist Ng Jia Yue expressed concerns about with AsiaOne. A senior specialist at SBCC Child Development Centre, the therapist is familiar with how increased screen time can contribute to behavioural problems in young children — delays in the development of speech and language, in particular.

 

 

“Language delay refers to the difficulties a child has in understanding what others say and/or communicating with others,” she explained. Speech delay, on the other hand, refers to the difficulties a child has in producing speech sounds accurately, making the child difficult to understand. 

 

According to Ng, symptoms include (and are not limited to) being unable to simply convey their needs, unable to talk by two-years-old, having poor pronunciation of words, and with a preference for gestures instead of speech. 

 

“Some children may also show behavioural problems as they are frustrated when they are unable to express themselves properly,” she mentioned. 

 

With Singapore's massive internet penetration and mobile app usage rates, should parents here pay more attention to the time spent by their kids with devices? The answer is a resounding yes, obviously. Read on below to see what Ng has to say about weaning children off screens. 

 

 

 How are these delays linked to increased screen time? 

A study has revealed that for children between ages six and 24 months, each 30-minute increase in handheld screen time is linked to a 49 per cent increased risk of developing expressive speech delays. This means that the ability to communicate using words and sentences may be delayed.

 

Particularly within Singapore, a large proportion of Singaporean children are using screen devices and screen time is on the rise, from 60 to 120 minutes among children between the ages of six months and 24 months. This is significantly higher than the World Health Organisation’s recommended guidelines.

 

Studies suggest that excessive screen time is linked to speech and language delays because face-to-face social interaction is vital to the development of language and other skills. Spending time on the screen may lead to less time for play and social interaction.

 

So, there are fewer opportunities for developing important foundational language skills such as turn-taking.

 

Screen-based interaction is not an effective substitute for interpersonal interaction and stifles the child’s ability to develop communication skills, pick up vocabulary, and gain confidence in expressing themselves.     

 

Do late talkers eventually catch up with their peers?

 

Between 70 to 80 per cent of late talkers seem to catch up with peers by school-going age. These children are sometimes referred to as "late bloomers" because they appear to catch up with peers eventually.

 

However, research has shown that these children may still continue to have difficulties in some language and literacy skills (such as reading, writing and listening comprehension), some skills related to language (such as social skills, planning and organising information, perspective taking) and how the brain processes speech.

 

There are also the 20 to 30 per cent of late talkers who do not grow out of their language delay. Hence, if a language delay is suspected, it is important to seek the advice of a speech-language therapist to determine if intervention is necessary.

 

 

How should screen time be handled?

 

Parents should limit their child’s screen time based on their needs and ensure that screen time does not affect their sleep and daily activities.

 

The World Health Organisation recommends controlled screen time for children under five. Namely: 

• Watching screened devices is not recommended for children aged one-year-old and below. 
• No more than one hour of screen time per day, for children aged two to four years old.

 

 

Any screen time given to children should also be curated and supervised by parents. Parents can also help build on what they have watched by discussing what their child has watched, such as discussing what happened in the video and helping children to relate it to real life.

 

However, more time should still be allocated for children to be engaged in active play or interactions.  

 

 

What are some methods parents can use to nurture their children’s speech and language development?

 

Parents should always try to engage with their children through play, toys, verbal communication or conversations, reading books, and hands-on activities instead of electronic gadgets. This personal interaction will significantly help develop the child’s cognitive and language skills, as well as develop sensorimotor and visual-motor skills. 

 

As the child gets older, it’s also important to sustain the interaction and communication by sharing in the child’s interests and engaging with the child through their interests. This helps to build the child’s confidence in expressing themselves and communicating with others. 

 

 

 

[email protected]

Edited July 24, 2019 by Lmws214

[Silver_blade]

It is really scary to see so many toddlers and primary school kids playing with mobile/tablet so often. Parents/adults seems to be happy that the children are occupied and they can get gossip among themselves without interruption. Shouldn't they try to engage the kids, talk to them, answer their queries, etc?

[Lmws214]

It is definitely not a healthy sign where parents use the ipad or handphones to "quieten" or "settle" the kids.

 

It is a "digital nanny" where parents use it as an "easy way out" to shut them up. Hence they lack social skills to interact and socialise with their peers. "Digital age" real issue .

Edited July 24, 2019 by Lmws214

[Alfc]

The digital gadgets are just tools. Dun conveniently blame them. Real underlying problem is modern parents are simply outsourcing parenting. Outsource to the maid, outsource to childcare centre, outsource to tuition teacher, outsource to school, outsource to enrichment lesson. A good parent is one that can pay for all the above, better still more bragging rights if outsourcing to branded labels.

Edited July 24, 2019 by Alfc

[Turboguy]

Singaporean  World* children at higher risk of speech and language delays due to excessive screen time

 

https://www.asiaone.com/digital/singaporean-children-higher-risk-speech-and-language-delays-due-excessive-screen-time?xtor=EREC-16-4%5BEmarsys_Newsletter%5D-20190724&extid=6934d0cfb7b252f1ae9f0dbddf5ff88ca8637e77

 

 

In today’s increasingly digitised landscape, it’s nigh-impossible to escape the harsh white light emanating from the screens of electronic displays. It’s harder than ever before for the kids of today not to get exposed to internet-connected gizmos from a tender young age. Unless they’re living off-grid, that is. 

 

It’s something that speech and language therapist Ng Jia Yue expressed concerns about with AsiaOne. A senior specialist at SBCC Child Development Centre, the therapist is familiar with how increased screen time can contribute to behavioural problems in young children — delays in the development of speech and language, in particular.

 

 

“Language delay refers to the difficulties a child has in understanding what others say and/or communicating with others,” she explained. Speech delay, on the other hand, refers to the difficulties a child has in producing speech sounds accurately, making the child difficult to understand. 

 

According to Ng, symptoms include (and are not limited to) being unable to simply convey their needs, unable to talk by two-years-old, having poor pronunciation of words, and with a preference for gestures instead of speech. 

 

“Some children may also show behavioural problems as they are frustrated when they are unable to express themselves properly,” she mentioned. 

 

With Singapore's massive internet penetration and mobile app usage rates, should parents here pay more attention to the time spent by their kids with devices? The answer is a resounding yes, obviously. Read on below to see what Ng has to say about weaning children off screens. 

 

 

 How are these delays linked to increased screen time? 

A study has revealed that for children between ages six and 24 months, each 30-minute increase in handheld screen time is linked to a 49 per cent increased risk of developing expressive speech delays. This means that the ability to communicate using words and sentences may be delayed.

 

Particularly within Singapore, a large proportion of Singaporean children are using screen devices and screen time is on the rise, from 60 to 120 minutes among children between the ages of six months and 24 months. This is significantly higher than the World Health Organisation’s recommended guidelines.

 

Studies suggest that excessive screen time is linked to speech and language delays because face-to-face social interaction is vital to the development of language and other skills. Spending time on the screen may lead to less time for play and social interaction.

 

So, there are fewer opportunities for developing important foundational language skills such as turn-taking.

 

Screen-based interaction is not an effective substitute for interpersonal interaction and stifles the child’s ability to develop communication skills, pick up vocabulary, and gain confidence in expressing themselves.     

 

Do late talkers eventually catch up with their peers?

 

Between 70 to 80 per cent of late talkers seem to catch up with peers by school-going age. These children are sometimes referred to as "late bloomers" because they appear to catch up with peers eventually.

 

However, research has shown that these children may still continue to have difficulties in some language and literacy skills (such as reading, writing and listening comprehension), some skills related to language (such as social skills, planning and organising information, perspective taking) and how the brain processes speech.

 

There are also the 20 to 30 per cent of late talkers who do not grow out of their language delay. Hence, if a language delay is suspected, it is important to seek the advice of a speech-language therapist to determine if intervention is necessary.

 

 

How should screen time be handled?

 

Parents should limit their child’s screen time based on their needs and ensure that screen time does not affect their sleep and daily activities.

 

The World Health Organisation recommends controlled screen time for children under five. Namely: 

• Watching screened devices is not recommended for children aged one-year-old and below. 
• No more than one hour of screen time per day, for children aged two to four years old.

 

 

Any screen time given to children should also be curated and supervised by parents. Parents can also help build on what they have watched by discussing what their child has watched, such as discussing what happened in the video and helping children to relate it to real life.

 

However, more time should still be allocated for children to be engaged in active play or interactions.  

 

 

What are some methods parents can use to nurture their children’s speech and language development?

 

Parents should always try to engage with their children through play, toys, verbal communication or conversations, reading books, and hands-on activities instead of electronic gadgets. This personal interaction will significantly help develop the child’s cognitive and language skills, as well as develop sensorimotor and visual-motor skills. 

 

As the child gets older, it’s also important to sustain the interaction and communication by sharing in the child’s interests and engaging with the child through their interests. This helps to build the child’s confidence in expressing themselves and communicating with others. 

 

 

 

[email protected]

 

[13177]

It is really scary to see so many toddlers and primary school kids playing with mobile/tablet so often. Parents/adults seems to be happy that the children are occupied and they can get gossip among themselves without interruption. Shouldn't they try to engage the kids, talk to them, answer their queries, etc?

Parents/adults themselves also occupied with mobile/tablet la. Nowadays you tell me which human being is not glue themselves on a phone in any situation? Lol.

[Watwheels]

Talk c0ck lah.

 

Those born in the 80s and 90s watch cartoons like transformers to He-Man to MTV. All stare at the TV screen for gawd knows how many hours a day. Why back then dont have this  speech/language delay BS? The TV sceen and mobile dievice screen got what difference other than size?

 

Whoever did this study is a bunch of morons.

Edited July 24, 2019 by Watwheels

[Ender]

I think in singapore, children lagging behind on digital knowledge and eLearning are the one losing out. That is why, should aid those poor family with laptop and internet access.

 

Of course parents need to monitor their online activities, coz may turn out disastrous.

Edited July 24, 2019 by Ender

[13177]

Talk c0ck lah.

 

Those born in the 80s and 90s watch cartoons like transformers to He-Man to MTV. All stare at the TV screen for gawd knows how many hours a day. Why back then dont have this  speech/language delay BS? The TV sceen and mobile dievice screen got what difference other than size?

 

Whoever did this study is a bunch of morons.

Maybe really got difference between TV screen and mobile/tablet screen le? Size difference plays an important part? My eyes would get tired easily when i look on mobile and laptop but my eyes dont get tired so easily when i look on tv le?! 

[Mustank]

Of course size makes a big difference

[Sosaria]

Not entirely true. Another example of how "confirmation bias" creeps into research.

 

My youngest watched a lot of youtube children's videos - and picked up considerable vocab from there. My wife and I did not have to do much intervention in the usual way like teaching ABCs or shapes or colours from books.

 

I could contrast this with my eldest when such technology was not yet widespread ... clearly there was a difference. Unfortunately with screen-tech, also found that it reduces interest in reading (boring and less stimulus compared to video).

[Solar]

My kids also delayed..

But we have not exposed them to electronic gadgets until they had to use it in pri school.

 

Thought the speech delay was more due to the other urban legend of MMR injections?

[Lala81]

It is really scary to see so many toddlers and primary school kids playing with mobile/tablet so often. Parents/adults seems to be happy that the children are occupied and they can get gossip among themselves without interruption. Shouldn't they try to engage the kids, talk to them, answer their queries, etc?

 

Ok lah. for gatherings etc, i think it's fine.

But if got enough kids around, usually they can play around with each other.

 

Haha i recently downloaded a chess app on my phone, playing with my daughter last night at sushi tei  

[Cheesey74]

Talk c0ck lah.

 

Those born in the 80s and 90s watch cartoons like transformers to He-Man to MTV. All stare at the TV screen for gawd knows how many hours a day. Why back then dont have this  speech/language delay BS? The TV sceen and mobile dievice screen got what difference other than size?

 

Whoever did this study is a bunch of morons.

 

Imho.. the biggest difference between this 2, one is static & the other is mobile.

 

Last time we watch alot of cartoons but it's only at home in the living room but now the mobile device so portable can bring anywhere, even when doing big business in toilet can use mobile device, so the amount of time spend on them is really humongous, esp. if the parents nvr control their children..

[Angcheek]

im speechless 

[Galantspeedz]

disagree

[Spurman]

Imho.. the biggest difference between this 2, one is static & the other is mobile.

 

Last time we watch alot of cartoons but it's only at home in the living room but now the mobile device so portable can bring anywhere, even when doing big business in toilet can use mobile device, so the amount of time spend on them is really humongous, esp. if the parents nvr control their children..

Last time where got rewind button. Fast forward. Repeat function lor.

 

Last time much more outdoor activities. Playing gor li. Five stones. Skipping. Hide n seek. Etc.