Children swiping pages of real books

Children distressed that they can`t swipe the pages of real books

There are numerous reports from teachers at receptions schools and nurseries that children are misunderstanding the basic mechanics of how a book works. Instead of seeking to turn a page in a normal manner, they are attempting to swipe the page left with one finger.

The national Union of Teachers (NUT) recently convened at their annual conference, this year held in Brighton, and speakers told of the `disturbing` trend of children thinking books work like tablets and phones, and becoming distressed when the pages refuse to change with a mere finger swipe.

Jennifer Bhambri-Lyte, a delegate from North Somerset reminisced about the romance of books themselves - the tactile, physical component that was being lost with the encroaching ubiquity of electronic reading devices:

`Kindles and iPads are wonderful things, but many of my friends talked about the smell of a book, finding tickets and receipts that someone had left as a bookmark, echoes of all the people that had been there before.`

Ms Bhambri-Lyte said she had been both a nursery and reception teacher, and that she hadn`t yet got used to the new reading habits of her pupils:

`I personally still find it disturbing to see a child pick up a book and try to swipe left.`

She went on to say that books are expensive, and many families would struggle to afford all the books their children might want. It is understandable then that, with e-books being so much cheaper (many of the classics are completely free) many young children are finding the screen a more familiar sight than the paper page for their reading experiences.

Many would say that as long as children are reading, what does it matter if they are using electronic devices, rather than traditional books? A child can easily carry their whole library around with them - whatever mood they are in they will likely have a book available to accommodate it. This can only encourage their reading habits, and who could possibly say that`s a bad thing?

The University of Toronto published the results of a study last year, which unfortunately suggested some disturbing facts. Children in the UK under the age of 3 use tablets and smartphones for an average of 44 minutes every day, and the results of the study suggested that, for children aged between 6 months and two years, each 30 minute session of screen time resulted in an increased risk of delayed speech by as much as 49 percent.

It is generally accepted that by the age of two or three infants should be communicating using sentences of between three and four words: the study suggested that there was a negative correlation between screen time, and language development. This is the very first study that has suggested smartphones and tablets can have a negative effect on infant linguistic growth.

Dr Catherine Birken, staff paediatrician at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, after commenting on how smartphones and tablets are now an everyday part of modern life, went on to say:

`While new pediatric guidelines suggest limiting screen time for babies and toddlers, we believe that the use of smartphones and tablets with young children has become quite common. This is the first study to report an association between handheld screen time and increased risk of expressive language delay.`

Dr Birken was adamant, given the seriousness of the findings, the very real negative impact smartphone and tablet use can have on language development, that screen media use should be discouraged in all children younger than 18 months.

I know many parents who see tablets and smartphones as a real asset in day to day parenting. My friend has a child whose wailing can only be assuaged by a quick you tube fix - while a colleague with an 18 month old child can always placate them through feeding time with their phone.

As regards those children mistakenly swiping paper pages, I feel that this is not a mistake that would be often repeated, and likely stems from there being no books at home at all. Something worth considering is that this generation of children are the first who have had smartphones and tablets in their lives from birth. It is wonderful how naturally children take to new technology - swiping and pressing buttons seems to come naturally to them - but if studies warn us of potential deleterious effects of prolonged exposure, we need to take notice.