Dear Millennials with children,

As a host working at a restaurant I tend to see a lot of different people throughout the day. While observing the interactions between family and friends there is something that has caught my attention. I have started to notice how often your children, especially your toddlers, are attaching themselves to technology. 

I have watched your toddlers scream and cry only to be given your phone as a consolation and a distraction. I have watched your children be entranced by the screens of the colorful, sticky tablets that you have given them. The dependence that your children are starting to have on their screens is beginning to concern me and should also be concerning to you. 

Increased screen time can have many negative effects on toddlers and young children. Increased screen time at a young age can affect language development in children. According to an article from the New York Times, “toddlers who are exposed to more screen time have fewer conversations.” Fewer conversations with others is what leads to decreased language development in children who get more screen time. 

Other than language development, excessive screen time at a young age can affect “a number of cognitive areas such as executive functioning, sensorimotor development, and academic outcomes” according to a study from the National Library of Medicine. 

It is important to your child’s development that you are taking the time to monitor their screen time. When you get the urge to hand that tablet to your crying toddler, try to think of other ways to calm them down. You have to remove that habit of relying on technology to distract and calm down your kid. 

Your children’s screen time and how they use technology should be monitored and regulated properly by you. The involvement of technology in our daily lives is always increasing which is why it’s important to pay attention to how you are using it with your children. 

Sincerely, Bo Hermiller