Ok. We have officially gone too far.
According to pediatric doctors, handwriting experts, and orthopedic therapists, kids today are struggling to use pens and pencils when they enter school due to their excessive use of touchscreen phones and tablets. While children today are adept at swiping a screen, it seems many are losing the hand strength and agility required to hold a pencil.
Sally Payne, the head pediatric occupational therapist at the Heart of England foundation NHS Trust, told The Guardian, “Children coming into school are being given a pencil but are increasingly not be able to hold it because they don’t have the fundamental movement skills. To be able to grip a pencil and move it, you need strong control of the fine muscles in your fingers. Children need lots of opportunity to develop those skills.”
With many nurseries installing digital smartboards and the increasing widespread use of tablets, children are no longer physically drawing or writing, which hampers the develop of key muscles in their hands. And as more activities, such as playing with play-doh or cutting with scissors, are replaced with playing with tablets, muscles in the shoulder, elbow, and wrist are not developing either.
Karin Bishop, an assistant director at the Royal College of Occupational Therapists, also added, “Whilst there are many positive aspects to the use of technology, there is growing evidence on the impact of more sedentary lifestyles and increasing virtual social interaction, as children spend more time indoors online and less time physically participating in active occupations.”
Via The Telegraph
