幼児ようじにスマホ “週しゅう5日にち以上いじょう利用りよう”2割わり近ちかく 民間みんかん調査ちょうさ【注意ちゅうい点てんは】

A private research institute has compiled survey results showing that nearly 20% of parents let their young children use smartphones five or more days a week for purposes such as childcare.

Experts say, We hope households will establish rules to ensure proper smartphone use.

How should parents deal with smartphones? Expert advice is provided in the latter half of the article.

This survey was conducted online by a private research institute in March of this year, and responses were received from over 6,500 mothers with children aged 0 to 9.

According to this, the percentage of parents who let their children use smartphones five or more days a week is 17% for children aged 1 to 6.

8%, ages 7 to 9: 31

It rose to 8%.

Regarding the advantages, there were responses such as children can learn and have fun, while on the other hand, there were also responses citing disadvantages like its bad for their eyes and health.

On the other hand, over 90% of households reported that they have established some rules regarding smartphone use, such as setting limits on usage time or monitoring content.

Junko Takaoka, the chief researcher at the Benesse Educational Research and Development Institute who conducted the survey, said, Behind the use of smartphones by infants and toddlers is the increase in busy working mothers and the growing number of useful tools for child-rearing, such as educational apps.

He points out that it is necessary to come up with measures such as setting rules at home or using filtering in order to prevent prolonged use.

A mother raising her child with a smartphone is a 33-year-old woman living in Tokyo.

I am raising a two-year-old son and a baby daughter, but since my husband is away during the day, I often have to take care of the children on my own. I usually let my two-year-old son watch videos on my smartphone for about an hour every day.

On this day as well, I tried to put my 0-year-old daughter to sleep in the bedroom, but my 2-year-old son also started getting fussy, so I gave him my smartphone to watch videos and went to soothe my daughter in the meantime.

The mother says, While Im taking care of the younger child, I cant pay attention to my son.

I have to admit that, even though I feel a bit guilty about it, I tend to rely on my smartphone a lot.

Also, mothers feel the difficulty of raising children using smartphones.

At dinner, no matter how many times she warned her son who was absorbed in watching videos, he wouldn’t let go of his smartphone.

Therefore, recently they have been trying to limit their daily smartphone usage time and make an effort to secure time to play together as a family as much as possible.

A mother said, Children about the age of my son cant control themselves.

I try to play with my child as much as possible so that they dont become addicted to smartphones, they said.

Q&A: How should parents interact with smartphones? How should parents raising children deal with smartphones?

We received advice from Junko Takaoka, a chief researcher at the Benesse Educational Research and Development Institute, who is well-versed in media usage among infants and young children.

Q

What is the background behind the spread of smartphone-based parenting?

One background factor is the increase in dual-income households, which has led to more busy parents.

When parents themselves are unable to look after their children—like when theyre busy with housework or going out—I think there are many cases where they show their kids a smartphone to keep them occupied.

Another point is that there has been an increase in the types of apps for play and learning aimed at infants and toddlers.

Recently, more and more parents are actively letting their children use apps as preparation for pre-school learning when they turn about five years old.

According to interviews with reporters, there were also cases where smartphones were used so that children could enjoy learning English through songs and videos. In addition, the increase in digital native parents of infants and toddlers is also a related factor.

It is thought that, since the parent generation regularly obtains information from smartphones and tablets, their resistance to letting their children use smartphones has diminished.

Q

What are the effects on infants? A

At this point, there is no clear causal relationship between smartphone use and its effects on childrens development.

However, in this survey, parents who answered that they let their children use smartphones and similar devices mentioned benefits such as allowing children to learn and have fun, enjoy songs and dancing, help with studying, and enrich their knowledge.

Additionally, disadvantages mentioned included negative effects on eyes and health, the possibility of accessing paid or dangerous websites, lack of exercise, and disruption of daily routines.

As expected, its not desirable to use smartphones too much and end up reducing outdoor play or communication between parents and children.

Looking at your smartphone itself isn’t a bad thing; what’s important is to use it wisely and maintain a good balance in your daily life.

Q

What should I be careful about?

At first, parents may start showing their children smartphones because they want them to stay quiet when theyre busy, but in this way, children gradually become absorbed in smartphone content.

We have also received many comments from parents saying that, before they knew it, they lost control over their children and are now troubled by it.

The amount of time infants and toddlers spend using smartphones is not very long, so I dont think cases of serious dependence are common. However, if the situation continues where they can watch as much of what they like without any restrictions, there is a risk that usage time could become longer, so caution is needed.

Also, one of the reasons people end up looking at their smartphones for long periods is the influence of the content.

It is said that from around the age of two, children start choosing the content they want to watch on their own, and once they start watching something, they sometimes cant stop in the middle.

In such cases, it is also necessary for parents to skillfully encourage their children to stop using their smartphones.

Q

What measures can be taken at home? A

I think its important to first set rules at home.

For example, it might be good to consider incorporating smartphones into daily routines from an early age, such as setting aside 30 minutes to use a smartphone after dinner.

By making it a habit to follow rules, children can learn to control their own behavior, which is important for them.

When setting rules, I think it’s best for each family to decide things like the length of time, the content, and the attitude in a way that isn’t too difficult for them.

Also, while children are still young, I would like parents to watch smartphones together with them as much as possible, and if there are any words the child doesnt understand, explain them. In this way, I hope parents and children can use smartphones together as much as possible.

I think it would be good to nurture a sense of media that allows children to skillfully use smartphones from a young age to broaden their knowledge.

On the other hand, I believe parents themselves also spend time looking at their smartphones, so please take a moment to reflect on whether this is affecting communication with your children.

Even during conversations with their children, if parents repeatedly find themselves glancing at their smartphone screens, it can affect the parent-child relationship. I hope this will be an opportunity for parents to reconsider how they use their smartphones and make sure to set aside enough time to truly engage with their children on a daily basis.