Children who use too many technology devices fail to hold a pencil or cut paper with scissors in school, researchers say. In fact, parents give smartphones and tablets in the hands of children to silence them from crying. Kids just keep swiping them, reducing the ability of their fingers and hands to hold things.

A new review by the Heart of England Foundation NHS Trust has found that as children come into classrooms for writing and other activities, their finger muscles are not working properly. Based on this report, British pediatricians are blaming technology, which has made traditional activities such as beading, coloring, paper-cutting crafts or other activities impossible. These types of activities involve a lot of finger use.

Sally Payne, head of pediatrics and therapist at the Heart of England Foundation NHS Trust, says: "Children coming into school are being given a pencil, but they don't grasp it quickly because their fingers don't have the basic motor skills. 

It's actually easier to get a child to hold a tablet than to give them activities like building blocks, cut-and-paste toys, and rope-pulling tools, it's missing out on the basic skills that kids need. With their help, they can hold a pencil and write well or paint beautifully. If teachers, parents and professionals do not pay attention to this, this process can be harmful for children in the early stages of development.

Weak Hands, Slow Growth

In its report, the British Health Organization told the story of a 6-year-old British boy, Patrick, who said that when he entered primary school, the muscles in his hands were not working to hold the ball. The child's mother, Laura, blames the time when she let him use technology to save time.

Laura said, "Instead of giving Patrick more traditional toys, I introduced technology with virtual toys. On the first day of school, the schoolchildren contacted me and expressed concern that he was not holding a pencil. After six months of working with an occupational therapist, Patrick learned to hold a pencil like most children his age.

Thirty years ago, doctors began to say that newborn babies should not be placed on stomachs because their arms are too weak to turn themselves over and they could die from suffocation. Doctors call this condition sudden infant death syndrome or SIDS.

But when babies are a little older and put on their stomachs, they try to crawl, grab something or move themselves; this starts working the muscles in their hands, causing them to develop the ability to use their fingers. But today, instead of toys, we see tablets or smartphones in the hands and fingers of small children, on which they are watching these videos and games are hindering the development of motor skills in their hands.

Related Article: Child Trauma: Teach Your Child To Build Resilience to Manage Adversity.

A Moment of Concern for Parents

Not only are the hands weak, but child's eyesight is also at risk due to too much screen time. However, research is ongoing to prove the link between video games, screen time, and vision impairment. Instead of going out for sports and doing physical activities, children sink into the sofa and look busy on smartphones and tablets, due to which they are suffering from obesity, which is also the root of many diseases.

Experts have found through various studies that the habit of sitting in front of the screen for a long time is causing obesity as well as sleep disorders in children. As new things like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and other apps like games come out, children's screen time is increasing gradually.

Sleep disorders and depression are becoming more common, especially with the mobile phone on the pillow at night. Experts are concerned that electronic devices may melt people's brains. Moreover, scientists have discovered that if children use mobile phones, it can have negative effects on their learning abilities.

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