According to studies, pacifying youngsters by handing them electronic devices when they are having tantrums may hinder their ability to handle emotions later in life, which can lead to anger management disorders.
In contrast, parents of children who already had poor emotional control were shown to be unduly reliant on electronic devices to silence them, exacerbating the pre-existing disorder, stated a report by PTI.
During the first few years of life, a child learns a great deal about self-control, including how to choose a conscious response over an instinctual one.
However, a team of researchers from Hungary and Canada discovered that the recent tendency of diverting youngsters by showing them content on tablets and smartphones in order to limit their unpleasant emotional responses can impair their ability to properly detect and manage emotions later in life.
“Tantrums cannot be cured by digital devices. Children have to learn how to manage their negative emotions for themselves. They need the help of their parents during this learning process, not the help of a digital device," Veronika Konok, a researcher at Eotvos Lorand University, Hungary, and first author of the study published in the journal Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, said.
Following 300 parents of children aged two to five years old for a year, the researchers discovered that youngsters who were pacified with digital gadgets demonstrated lower anger and frustration management abilities.
Parents were invited to complete surveys about how they and their children utilised media.
Conversely, the team discovered that poorer behaviour control in a child led to parents using digital devices more frequently as a management tool.
The more the children were given devices when they threw tantrums, the less they were seen to make a deliberate effort to control their behaviour, the authors found.
"It's not surprising that parents more frequently (use digital devices to calm children down) if their child has emotion regulation problems, but our results highlight that this strategy can lead to the escalation of a pre-existing issue," Konok said.
Stressing the importance of not avoiding situations that are frustrating for the child, the researchers recommended that the parents coach their children through difficult moments, and help them recognise and handle their emotions.
The authors said that health professionals should assist the parents by providing training and counselling, which their research may help to inform.
They claimed that children's mental health and wellbeing would benefit from this.
