When I saw the title, I immediately thought of the toddler who know the ins and outs of an iphone and is playing with it while on the monkey bars. That is not a good thing.
But, the study is about what is worse, lack of supervision and distractions by parents on their cell phones is causing young children to get in more preventable accidents on the playground. With all of us glued to our electronics, this Grandma knew it was bound to happen.
In, “How an iPhone Can Lead to Broken Bones for Young Children,” November 11, 2014 in the New York Times, Dean Karlan, the author, talks about broken bones and concussions and reports on the study, “That Smarts!: Smartphones and Child Injuries,” by Craig Palsson, Department of Economics, Yale University, published October 7, 2014. The study itself can be found here.
Mr. Palsson’s abstract states:
From 2005 to 2012, injuries to children under five increased by 10%. Using the expansion of ATT’s 3G network, I find that smartphone adoption has a causal impact on child injuries. This effect is strongest amongst children ages 0-5, but not children ages 6-10, and in activities where parental supervision matters. I put this forward as indirect evidence that this increase is due to parents being distracted while supervising children, and not due to increased participation in accident-prone activities.
The study says the results are significant and approximate injuries in car accidents. The lost work hours and school hours, in addition to increased emergency room visits are cited in the study.
Back to Dean Karlan’s article, found at NY Times.
His conclusion is interesting:
I’m a believer in free range parenting. Part of that philosophy is that taking some lumps helps a child grow up. Learn to take care of yourself, and you’ll be strong and independent, or so the thinking goes.
I wouldn’t want to see the lumps get too big, of course. But there may be no better way to learn to be responsible than to have actual responsibility. The paper definitely will make me think twice, though, if I’m taking care of a friend’s child at a playground (fortunately my children are older).
This Grandma’s mantra is all joy and no responsibility. When we do have responsibility, we do not want injuries on our watch. This Grandma is more concerned about grandchildren getting hurt on my watch than I ever was about my own children getting hurt. I agree with Dean Karlan. We grandmas probably cannot influence the parents’ of our children with this study, but it would not hurt to forward them this blog post to open their eyes to potential detriment to our grandchildren. We can control our own behavior and electronics usage when we are in charge.
Joy and care go together,
Mema
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