The crucial subject of children's exposure to screens was once again put on the table by Emmanuel Macron during his press conference at the Élysée on Tuesday January 16.
The president expressed the wish to regain “control of our screens” and said he wanted “the best scientists (...) both epidemiologists, clinicians, sociologists, all disciplines, to be able to tell us “before At such an age, it is not reasonable to put a child in front of a screen.”
In April, a Public Health France survey indicated that 2-year-old children spend on average nearly an hour per day in front of a screen.
The figure does not surprise Sylvie Dieu Osika (1), pediatrician and member of the screen overexposure collective (CoSE).
Since 2019, the doctor has been responsible for the “Screen overexposure” hospital consultation at the Jean-Verdier hospital in Bondy (Seine-Saint-Denis) and sees children – sometimes babies, who can no longer do without screens.
At what age can addiction set in?
What are the consequences for the child's development?
What can parents do to avoid it?
The specialist answers us.
Also read: Gabriel Attal: “Regarding the use of screens at home, we are close to a health and educational disaster”
Madame Figaro.-
What creates screen addiction in children?
The screen itself, which is addictive.
Notifications, colors, image frequency, sound... Everything is designed and done so that it is, so that it captures the child's attention.
And even the baby is a victim.
If we put him in front of a screen, we can see that he doesn't take his eyes off it.
At the same time, several factors contribute to addiction, such as the child's personality.
In the same family, some will be affected more than others.
In my practice, I also notice that boys are more concerned.
80 to 90% of my consultations concern them, but we don't yet know how to explain it.
At what age can this dependence set in?
It can appear at all ages and even very early.
In consultation, I see babies aged three, four months.
The addiction process sets in very quickly.
To understand this, let's take a classic situation: our child is in front of
Paw Patrol
, we take him away, he cries.
If we are tired, if we are a single parent, without outside help, we give back.
Then he will ask again and again, the dose of screens can be increased and the dependence will set in.
When a child learns to eat in front of a screen, falls asleep in front of it or is consoled by it, he cannot bear it being taken away.
The family environment also contributes to the onset of dependence.
Children can fall into the screen trap if they are not offered anything else at the same time and if the adults around them are themselves very often caught up in screens.
Let's not forget that it is built on example.
Everything is designed and done so that the screen is addictive, so that it captures the child's attention.
And even the baby is a victim
Sylvie Dieu Osika, pediatrician
What consequences do you observe on children?
The major problem common to all concerns sleep.
They sleep little and poorly, which then has an impact on their overall development.
I also see language disorders in young children, more precisely a delay, or even a total absence of language;
for example, I met children aged 2 and a half who didn't say a word.
In some cases, children speak "YouTube language", they spend hours watching Youtube Kids and then repeat what they hear.
They thus arrive for a consultation reciting the alphabet or counting in English, but do not understand what they are saying and above all, do not speak otherwise.
I also observe attention problems, frustration and behavioral problems.
They have learned to calm themselves with a screen and are unable to do otherwise.
Some others have problems interacting, they don't look at others, they aren't interested in what's going on around them.
Finally, some have disorders similar to autism.
What role do parents have to play?
I insist: it is not the fault of the parents, it is the company which, by dumping the Internet everywhere, did not provide instructions, did not warn and did not mention the importance of rules to be put in place.
In my opinion, we must therefore legislate, as we do with alcohol and tobacco, and inform parents and educate them about digital technology.
This appears in the bill (
relating to the prevention of excessive exposure of children to screens, Editor's note
) by Caroline Janvier and Aurore Bergé, which dates from January 2023 and which is still in the Senate.
Parents need to be explained that when they are next to their baby but busy with their phone, they do not respond in the same way to their child as if they were fully present.
And this has consequences for the baby's early attachment and interactions.
It's not the parents' fault, it's the company which, by dumping the internet everywhere, has not provided instructions for use.
Sylvie Dieu Osika, pediatrician
Concretely, what can we do to establish a healthy relationship with screens in children?
I advise not to expose him to screens before the language is established, in other words, not before he has a language understandable by people other than his parents.
Furthermore, I recommend the “4 steps” method of the American Academy of Pediatrics: no screen in the bedroom - this place must be preserved, even for the teenager - not in the morning before going to daycare , at the nanny or at school, not during meals and not one hour before bed.
That being said, screens should not be demonized and parents should not feel guilty, we have all put our children in front of cartoons!
Taking a selfie with your baby or a Skype with your child next to you is not dangerous, it is the content that is the problem.
The main thing is therefore to know what the child is looking at, to be available to him because it is constructed through our gaze, to accompany him and to exchange with him.
(1) Dr Sylvie Dieu Osika is the author of
Screens, 10 keys to using them in a reasonable way with the family
, (Ed. Hatier), 6.90 euros.