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CATHERINE W GICHUKI
DOHA
AS the world progresses in technology, parents' dependence on electronic devices to entertain their toddlers as they bring them up is also growing.
Many parents let their toddlers play with gadgets and watch television instead of playing with them or listening to what the other family members are saying.
Even though many see this way of using gadgets in the process of parenthood as classy since the child has many technological skills at this age, experts in a recent autism symposium organised by Qatar Biomedical Research Institute (QBRI) warned that parents should keep children especially those below three years away from these devices to avoid attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Speaking on the sidelines of the first QBRI Autism Symposium recently, themed 'Raising Awareness and Enabling Knowledge Exchange', QBRI Senior Scientist Fouad Alshaban urged that children below three years old should be kept away from electronic devices to avoid attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)."Children need to have an opportunity to play with others, listen to the other family members as they talk, not just sitting and watching things on these devices," said Alshaban.
He said that a child,who is glued to an electronic device to watch films, pictures, songs and other things most of the time, is hyperactive and has attention deficit when he goes to school."We need to raise awareness to families not to let their children especially during their first three years of life to have those devices," he said.
However, Alshaban said that ADHD is curable unlike the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) which is life-long. He added that most of those with ASD usually have ADHD, therefore, ADHD is considered as a comorbidity of autism."ADHD is curable, it is easy to treat unlike autism which is a life-long condition," he said.
Speaking on the same issue during his presentation at the symposium,Dr Ahmad Mohammed Almai of Sheikh Khalifa Medical City in the UAE said that more awareness about ADHD is required."Awareness should start from the primary health care centres through pregnant women who attend their antenatal clinics."
A delegate at the symposium said that using devices in early years also causes delay in a child's development."Some children are two years and they are not able to say two words," she said.
