Psychiatry and Society

  Television and screens often serve as "electronic babysititers" for busy families. Research suggests that the timing, content, and context of a preschool child's screen exposure can have profound impacts on their behavioral, dietary, and long-term social development. Understanding this is essential for parents and caregivers to foster healthy developmental trajectories . Behavioral Regulation and the Protective Power of Culture One of the primary concerns regarding early television exposure is its link to dysregulation , which is the inability to monitor and manage emotions and behaviors. Research involving toddlers across 14 different countries has found that higher levels of TV viewing are consistently associated with difficulties in attention and self-soothing. Frequent exposure during this foundational period of can disrupt the development of executive functions such as working memory and inhibition. Interestingly, the impact of television is not universal and c...

Turn off the television and speak to your toddler . Talking is the best thing you could do today for your child’s psychological development. Talking is an interactive process in which your child exercises a core feature of being human - communicating through speech. Your child's vocabulary is directly proportional to the amount of time you spend talking. Talking primes your child for independence. Speech evolves through attempts to communicate needs and feelings. Infants and toddlers are driven by evolution to master this complex process. You, the parent, play a key role in this two-way interaction. Infancy and toddler-hood are stages for developing secure bonding and attachment. The child is primed to bond with the mother or caregiver. The initial bond is secured by direct contact with the caregiver - through warmth, touch and voice. A secure attachment bond enables the infant seeks to explore the environment by attempts to crawl and later walk. The exploring toddler returns ...