- Doctors warn kids are spending so much time on iPads they can’t hold a pencil
- The excessive use of handheld devices is stopping finger muscles developing
- Paediatricians said swapping traditional toys for tablets may hinder children
They may be technology whiz kids – but children raised on iPads find it hard to hold a pencil, doctors have warned.
Excessive use of touchscreen phones and tablets is stifling the development of children’s finger muscles, making it hard to hold a pen or pencil correctly.
Senior paediatricians said swapping traditional toys for tablets may hinder children during their early years.
Doctors have warned that children spend so much time on iPads that they are finding it hard to even hold a pencil (file photo)
‘It’s easier to give a child an iPad than encouraging them to do muscle-building play such as building blocks,’ said Sally Payne, of the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust.
‘They’re not developing the skills they need to grip and hold a pencil.’
Mrs Payne said children starting school nowadays do not have ‘the hand strength and dexterity they had ten years ago’.
But Barbie Clarke, a child psychotherapist and founder of the Family Kids and Youth research agency, said: ‘We go into a lot of schools and have never gone into one which has embraced teaching through technology which isn’t using pens alongside the tablets and iPads.’
One mother, Laura, whose six-year-old son Patrick is having therapy to increase the strength in his index finger, told the Guardian: ‘In retrospect I gave Patrick technology to play with to the virtual exclusion of the more traditional toys.
‘When he got to school he was gripping his pencil like cavemen held sticks.’
Senior pediatricians also say that excessive use of smartphone and tablets cause underdevelopment of finger muscles