On July 20, Émilie had hardly given birth to Alba when a midwife warned her. “Above all, no screen for three years is very important. "It just makes sense," said the young mother. " Not for everybody! She bounces. And if, despite everything, the message is not well recorded, it has been printed on the health book since 2018. A strong warning which reflects the growing concern around the screens. And the urgency of not reproducing the error of exposing new generations of children.
A study by the University of Rennes, presented this Tuesday January 14 by Public Health France, drives the point home a little more. Carried out with 276 toddlers, aged 3½ to 6½ years, it established that the little ones who watch the screens in the morning are three times more likely to develop language disorders, from simple delay to dysphasia, a severe deficit. of oral production and comprehension. Worse, if the child does not discuss what he saw on the screen with his parents, the risk increases, multiplied by six.
"In consultation, I see little agitated"
Stay in front of the TV, a tablet or a phone from potron-twink ... The new study shows that duration is not an essential question. "No matter the weather," explains author Manon Collet, a general practitioner in the Rennes basin. The problem is the exposure from sunrise. This result confirms what child psychiatrist Lise Barthélémy perceives in her office.
“The screens in the morning excite them all day. In consultation, I see little restless, scrambled behavior. "And according to this doctor, co-founder of the Collective over-exposure screens (CoSE), the appearance of these digital toys is concomitant with" a staggering increase in language, learning, behavioral and relational disorders ". "Sometimes I don't know which child I have in front of me," she admits.
"Not before 6 or 7 years old and under parental control"
According to a recent Inserm study, two out of three 2-year-olds watch TV every day and one in two starts before 18 months! So how old should we keep our children away from this silent threat? Difficult to navigate. 3 years, according to the Ministry of Health. Plus, according to Yvan Touitou, chronobiologist and member of the Academy of Medicine. "I would say: not before 6 or 7 years old and under parental control. "
But how do we get out of it in a hyperconnected society? "We must not bully the children," warns the professor. If they want to see Mickey, for example, it is better to offer them to tell the story afterwards, so as to foster a social bond. Dialogue is a necessity.
As soon as they enter school, the teachers quickly spot these children fed on TV. "Often away, they do not have the language to describe their emotions so they push, claw, type", analyzes Maryse Chrétien, president of the General Association of Teachers of public nursery schools and classes. On the start of the new school year, this teacher from the schools in Haute-Marne warns the families: “I tell them that we must stop running, take the time to have lunch with him. "
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But beware, if it is necessary to raise the alert on TV, tablets, smartphones, Maryse Chrétien does not want to make parents feel guilty. "They were also raised with screens, it's up to us to explain how to use them." And then they are not the only ones responsible for all the ills of the little ones. The lack of concentration also comes from an increasingly planed sleep. "And you know when a child still has his pacifier at the age of 3, that doesn't help him develop language either. "
