It's nothing new to see a young child on a phone or watching TV, but the question is whether or not this is good for them. As a child I explored the woods behind my house, rode my bike around the neighborhood, and swam for hours on end, but for years now kids have been sitting in front of a TV and gaining more and more access to the internet. There is a picture of me, probably about five or six, the first time I had ever been on a computer, and you can see word pulled up in the background with the same letter repeating itself over and over, I was amazed. But now access is right at the fingertips of these children, they can do a lot more than just type letters on word, and never has the access been so broad or advanced.  Phones can prove helpful in times of need and distress, they provide easy access to websites such as google and other educational apps, and they also simply provide entertainment. This can be good, especially for the crying kid on isle 9 who has been ready to go home for the past thirty minutes. But it can also be bad for that same kid. Research shows that children who have too much "screen time" can be more at risk to things such as obesity, difficulty paying attention, an inability to make real-world friends, dulled imagination, low academic performance, and increased aggression as they age (Rosen). That being said, a lot of parents are keeping cell phones and certain TV programs away from children as long as possible; one mom says that her children won't have a cell phone until they are able to finance it themselves ("Five Reasons Your Kids Shouldn't Have Cell Phones"). Personally, I believe that owning a cellphone becomes a question of responsibility. Are young children really responsible enough to have cell phones or unlimited access to a television or is it just going to hinder their learning opportunities?

The most crucial time for children's development is in their first five years of life. Of these five years the first three are crucial for a child's brain to develop. Their brain developing in the correct way has a direct impact on their social and learning abilities. Research has shown that humans learn faster the younger they are, this is why young children can pick up on different types of languages quicker than adults ("Child Development and Early Learning"). This is also why the first years of life are crucial and why children should not be wasting such valuable time using electronics. A child who grows up in a household where they just watch TV all the time is more likely to have social anxiety and do poorly in school, while a child who gets out of the house, or spends time doing crafts, is more likely to become an outgoing and creative student. (Susan). Children thrive in households that provide comfort and affection better than in ones which could appear hostile or even just one where the children receive less attention, but you could just not be aware that you are not giving your child enough attention especially when they appear amused by the TV show in front of them. In actuality what they need is affection and time spend with you ("Child Development and Early Learning").

Young children are very impressionable and some of the most crucial times for development is before they can even talk, this is why I believe that any child under the age of three should not have access to a cell phone. Dr. Michael Rich says that his children didn't have any sort of screen time before they were 2  one-half  because studies have shown that they can't benefit from it (Rosen). Dr. Rich also states "Technology itself doesn't create problems, what matters is what we do with it," meaning that if you need something to keep your child entertained then you should make it something educational at the same time. This age can be a turning point in a child's life and if they are just around shows where they aren't learning anything new, such as SpongeBob or Scooby Doo, I'm not saying that these shows are bad or that they shouldn't be watched, they are classics. I just believe that they shouldn't be watched in bulk by children so young (Taylor). Although not all TV shows are educational TV shows such Sesame Street can be very beneficial for young children. Sesame Street was introduced in the mid 1960's and has been popular ever sense. Sesame Street has a strong focus on academics and researchers saw a 14% drop in the likelihood of children to be behind in school while watching Sesame Street compared to those kids who didn't. Children can learn very basic key parts of elementary education from Sesame Street and shows like it, skills such as numbers and the alphabet which will help to put them ahead in the long run (Tankersley).

Public opinion polls have argued that three and four year olds spending a lot of time watching TV and playing on phones is depriving them of hands-on learning that can be crucial to their development, while other argue that screen time is actually going to help their child be ahead in the long run. Experts say that specific apps and television shows help children with problem solving and educational achievement (Rosen). One company even made a cell phone called "Firefly" which only allows kids to make and receive phone calls from a pre-approved list, which could be a good alternative to the expensive touch screens which are easy to lose and hard to pay for. 

Children at young ages, such as three or four, should be experiencing the world in real time, not through a screen. Children learn best through physical interactions in which they can either positively or negatively benefit from. This brings up some concerns among parents who may not want their children outside doing things, like climbing trees, because they don't want them to get hurt. Angie, who wrote 50 Dangerous Things (You Should Let Your Kids Do), says that you should allow your children to climb trees. Why? Because she says that while climbing trees may seem aimless and just something children would do for fun that it is actually teaching them skills that they can use later on in life. Tree climbing can teach children skills such as dexterity, risk assessment, focus, and planning. Children have to be able to look at the different branches and choose which ones they can make it to and which ones would be a bad choice. They have to focus on the one task or else they might fall. They much assess how far up the tree they are willing to go and which branches might not support their weight (Angie). Angie also says that most importantly "an unsuccessful climb has the most valuable lesson a child can learn: how to pick themselves up and get right back at it again." So while it may seem safer for a child to sit inside and continue to play their computer or phone games, there are beneficial lessons that can be picked up from facing tasks that may seem too difficult for them to handle at their age.

As a child, I was always allowed to climb trees, and I always did. There was one tree in our backyard that was my favorite tree to climb, then one year a car crash resulted in the telephone wire that had always hung way above the tree, to be partially in the tree. Of course, since the poll was more towards our backyard no one ever thought that fixing it was necessary. My parents didn't like the idea of me playing in the tree anymore, but I still did. There was a forest behind my house but for some reason this was MY tree. I would sneak into it when my parents weren't watching, and eventually they just told me to be safe and stay away from the top (where the wire was.) My parents wanted me to be safe, but they also wanted me to be able to judge a situation for myself. Whenever I got stuck in a tree and called for their help they would come over, but instead of just reaching up and pulling me out, would talk me through the motions of getting down. This has helped me learn solving problem skills that I couldn't have learned without the experience of actually going through it. Climbing trees has helped me learn to evaluate different situations and figure out which one is going to be most beneficial to me, and help me "get down (or up)" faster. It has also helped me in my ability to focus on the task that is at hand. It doesn't occur to you that small things, like tree climbing, can be so beneficial. We tend to think that dangerous is bad, when really, you can set limits, such as telling them "you can only climb this high," and make it safer for all involved and it will help to build skills that can't be learned from a regular computer game. New technology, though, that uses sensors can use your brain waves in order to move the shapes/ people on the screen, is proven to help kids with ADHD build focus skills (Hodges).

In a world with more and more technology coming out, it's becoming harder for us to focus on one thing for too long. We jump from one app to the next, in despair and hoping that there is going to be something new, even if it doesn't benefit us, we want something new. In a study done by psychologist Glenn Wilson he found that "the cognitive losses from multitasking [jumping from one thing to the next] are equivalent to smoking pot." Huge McGuire writes an article laying out why he believes he can no longer focus long enough to read, he mentions a famous study that was done on rats where rats are given a dose of dopamine whenever they pull a lever. Many of these rats would chose the lever over food and sex. They often would chose the lever over food even to the point of starvation, "we do the same thing with our email, refresh, refresh, refresh." (McGuire) In the conclusion he says, "and so, the problem, more or less, is identified: 1. I cannot read books because my brain has been trained to want a constant hit of dopamine, which a digital interruption will provide. 2. This digital dopamine addiction means I have trouble focusing: on books, work, family and friends."

I didn't have a cell phone growing up, I receive my first phone when I was 12 years old, it was a flip phone, and it only made phone calls. My parents allowed me to have it at all times, except for when I went to school, and they preferred me to not to use it a dinner. We had an old dial-up computer that I only got to use for 30 minutes, and only on days that I got finished with my homework before dinner. Being so, I spent most of my time outside riding my bike, playing basketball, or playing softball. I believe that this has affected me in many different ways as I have grown up, such as when I see people out eating, ignoring each other, and they are just on their phones, I think it's rude. I took my nieces to the beach this past summer and we had only been out swimming for about thirty minutes when the youngest comes up to me and says she wants to go inside and watch TV. I suggested other activities that we could do, mini golf, Wonderworks, etc... But all she wanted to do was go inside and watch SpongeBob. I believe that I, having a childhood where you couldn't fit the computer in your backpack, and you didn't have a phone wherever you went, have gained a deeper appreciation for nature and the outdoors. Yes, sometimes I fall victim to the world of social media, and yes I pretty much always have my phone with me, but I know when to put it down.

So the question then becomes, when is a child old enough to have a cell phone? Liz Perle says that it can be different for every child out there, that there are just a few questions you could ask yourself about your child first, such as "are they responsible enough?" Some kids can hardly keep up with their shoes, would getting them a cell phone really be beneficial if they can't even keep up with it? Another good question she poses is, "do your children "need" to be in touch for safety reasons  --  or social ones?" Many kids believe that in order to be in touch with their friends and the rest of the world that they need to have a cell phone, but in reality, depending on the age and responsibility, they will use the phone more for games and pictures than they will anything else (Perle). Some parents bring this to the extreme and suggest that kids should not have cell phones until they are old enough to pay for it themselves and that even then, they will have restrictions. Dr.Laura suggests an alternative to this by setting limits on their texts and data and just having them pay the overages. 

There is no real definition or line that can be drawn to clearly answer the question of when your child should get their first phone or when they should have free range over the TV. Your child, however, should not be under the age of five (which is the end of ones most crucial developmental stages) because there is no need for it. A child that young simply cannot keep up with a cell phone, nor do they have mental capabilities to choose shows which will help benefit them.  Sixty-one percent of parents agree that children should get their first phone between the age of 13 and 18 (Eisner). This would be an age where the child would begin to spend less time at home possibly joining sports teams, or just spending times with friends, and a cell phone would be an easy way to get in touch with them. At this age they should be responsible enough to keep up with a cellphone and not make stupid decisions, and it will provide them with an easy way to keep in contact with their friends. 

