Many parents today have a habit of holding their children while surfing the phone, breastfeeding them but still keeping their eyes glued to the screen, or taking advantage of watching messages while lulling them to sleep. This habit seems harmless, but experts warn: Using the phone while taking care of newborns can cause many serious consequences, both in terms of safety and emotional development.
Newborns cannot protect themselves. Any danger, even the smallest, can become an accident in just a few seconds.
Increased risk of accidents and dangerous incidents
When parents focus on their phones, the observation reflex will be significantly reduced. In many cases, children choke on milk, vomit, and suffocate, but adults do not detect it in time. Even just one slip while holding the child, the risk of falling is also very high.
What is scary is that accidents with newborns often happen in an instant and the consequences can be long-lasting.
Disrupting the connection between parents and children
The first months of life are the golden period to form a safe bond. Newborns need their parents' eyes, voice, facial expressions, and feedback to feel loved.
When parents look at the screen instead of their children, children will lack important interactions. In the long run, this can affect children's communication and emotional abilities.
Influence on language and cognitive development
Infants learn by observing the environment and listening to their voices. If parents talk less, sing less lullaby, and respond less to their children's babbling because they are engrossed in watching phones, children will lose their natural language stimulation source.
Many studies show that direct interaction plays an important role in brain development in young children.
Create bad habits for your own parents
Phones easily make parents "streamed" into social networks, losing control of time. Gradually, being with children is just a formality, while the mind is always elsewhere. This makes taking care of children more tiring and irritable.
Children are more prone to crying and sleep difficulty
Newborns are very sensitive to stress and lack of attention. When parents do not respond promptly, the baby can cry easily, find it difficult to soothe, and sleep erratically. In particular, the light of the screen at night can also affect the child's sleeping environment.
Parents do not need to completely quit their phones, but need to set clear limits. Because just the first few months of life being properly cared for, children will have an emotional foundation and develop better than their whole lives.
