Regardless of the addiction to SMART devices, Technology can actually stimulate infant brain. As infants start to chain up their brains with what they are exposed to, during their first few years of life, the quality of communication is extremely critical. This includes what they listen from the surrounding as well as from the devices they get access to. Technology these days can provide the interaction that stimulates the brain. As a norm most of the busy parents let their kids watch certain Youtube video channels designed for kids or let them play interactive games. Youtube kids, has become vital option too. As long as they are not addicted to the technology, certain level of exposure is required. For instance, if mom really has to cook dinner while keeping the infant occupied, interactive games can be a healthy distraction.

The key word here is “interaction”. It’s the responsibility of the parent to make sure infants are dealing with the right information from media and interacting with it through speech and movement. Media channels on television of other smart devices give access to a vast array of information. The negative aspect is, infants who sit there simply watching TV or videos are not turning the gears in their brains to send out enough reactions or decisions. This is just a passive use of technology, and it has a numbing effect on infant brains that can lead to lot of issues starting from brain growth cutback, vision complications and etc. For instance, when I see a kid having attention issues, my first question is: How much television is he watching at home?

However, such kind of interactive games on tablets or phones are a different scenario. They require an infant child to decide what to do or where to go, which can be defined as an active use of technology. When appropriately chosen, games like these get infants to slow down and think, consequently making decisions on their own and exercising the gears in their brains towards the right position.

Also, if the kid really likes to watch videos, try shooting a video of her/his and then keep replaying that video for her/him. These realistic videos help infants recall and review what they learned and what they experienced. Discussing with your child the scenes in the video not only encourages vocabulary building, but also has emotional and cognitive benefits.