Video: „Autized” Generation – TVR – TV reporting
WHAT RISKS parents who forget their children in front of their TV or tablet. A documentary about the harmful effects of excess television watching shows that child development can be irreparably affected, that is why TVR informs.
“Extremely exaggerated with the watching television. Unfortunately, besides some effects that we think are beneficial but not so beneficial, some are very damaging, “says neuropsychiatrist Raluca Grozăvescu.
“At the 6th grade he asked the children to draw a drawing to show what the children do in the recess. What did the majority draw? Children playing on phone or tablet. That’s how they perceived playing in the recess, “says biophysicist Virgiliu Gheorghe. The television is the first to introduce the child into screen addiction and sometimes irremediably affects the child’s development, shows the documentary makers.
Laura Nussbaum Chief of Pediatric Psychiatric Department at the Clinic of Psychiatry and Neurology for Children and Adolescents of “Louis Turcanu” Hospital in Timişoara. Children and adolescents risk their health, “the drug” being offered by their parents daily. Doctors claim that computer games are bad for health and frequent use of the computer has given rise to addiction. “In many cases psychotherapy and medication is reached,” says Laura Nussbaum. Many small children have tablets and laptops, most of the time by safely handling the keyboard and mouse before learning to write with the pen. “It is true that children’s access to new technologies develops skills and aptitudes, but things have to be done with measure, and the onset of the virtual environment must be postponed as much as possible. Your computer, tablet, and mobile phone are addictive. We have many cases of children in kindergarten or primary classes. They want nothing but to play on the computer. The yonger the children gain access to the computer, the more dangerous the addiction is, “says Timisoara doctor. With growth, children have been skiping from classes to keep their eyes on the monitor and the mind connected to a virtual reality, often violent.
“Some develop tics, others are agitated. Many people are exacerbating certain mental or behavioral problems that would otherwise be overlooked. We have many hyperactive children. Some go to obesity because they refuse any kind of movement. Others refuse to eat and drink no more water because they do not stop playing. Then there are other issues. Children run out of reality and take refuge in the virtual environment because it’s different to control things in the game. Moreover, there are cases where children socialize only online, they live there. There are also a lot of students where biorhythm is disturbed. Some sleep only two hours out of 24. Others sleep only a few hours after three or four days of sleeplessness because they have to finish a game. It comes to the situation where children have no limits, “says Laura Nussbaum, quoted by the Banat Renaissance. Most parents come to a specialist consultation only when the situation gets out of control, and the parents are becoming saddened to find no solutions:
“In most cases, children are brought to a doctor when addiction is already established, and children want nothing more than to play on their computer. Skipping school and poor learning outcomes are the signals that mobilize parents. In many cases, middle school students and high school adolescents reach psychotherapy and medication. We see an ugly psychopathology like manic, depression, agitation, psychotic symptoms with hallucinations and even suicidal or suicidal attempts, “says the chief physician of Pediatric Psychiatry Department of „Louis Turcanu”.
“We have two or three desperate cases a week. Pathology is more difficult to recognize, and patients get to the doctor when the situation gets out of control. Very few parents come in time, most call the specialist only when the child no longer works in any direction. The longer the problem is postponed, things get worse. The heaviest cases are those in which the family environment is disturbed, “says Laura Nussbaum. According to the Timişoara specialist, most of the blame is borne by the parents who do not limit their children’s access to the computer, or even neglect them, devoting their time especially to the financial situation, with the hope that the money solves all the problems.
“Computer addictin and banned substances go hand in hand. Solutions are, but need to be worked. Because of the parents inconsistence we have few successes. Unfortunately for many parents the money is importantr, and children feel abandoned and devoid of value, so family therapy is needed to make patients feel no longer alone, but to feel valued, “says Laura Nussbaum.
According to the Timişoara physician, the time spent on a computer by a child should be 15-30 minutes a day, depending on his or her age. Moreover, it must be trained by parents in all sorts of activities to capture their interest. Last but not least, the older students have to realize for themselves that playing and interacting with peers only virtually affects their health.
Dr. Raluca Teleanu, Head of Pediatric Neurology at Children’s Hospital “Victor Gomoiu” in Bucharest, reveals for “Weekend Adevărul”, both from the doctor’s and mother’s experience, precious tips for protecting the brains of the children before they are born until the age of adolescence […]
What problems do you often encounter in children?
Half of the consultations I have are for psychogenic headaches. There are children with chronic fatigue, a infernal life program, that accuses a headache. Apart from headache, surprisingly lately we have seen paroxysmal manifestations, as we doctors call them. Parents call them crises, others call them seizures. What I would like to remember is that not all such manifestations are epileptic, but many are. That’s why when these events happen, it’s right to get to a neurologist, do some investigations, and you as a parent to understand you why your child is doing in different ways. There are epileptic seizures in which the child does not lose consciousness. I see a large number of children with epilepsy and more and more in recent years. I can not figure out why. Internationally, we do not know why we see more children with such neurological problems. Then I see children with malformations and who have motor deficits, paresis, paralysis, mental retardation. This is the pathology that predominates.
Children with attention deficit and hyperkinetic syndrome also come to us, which I honestly do not manage. Why? Parents are scared of the word psychiatrist, and it seems to them that if they come to talk to a psychiatrist, it is less serious. I always encourage them to go to the psychiatrist. It is important to find a solution for the child. Another category of children I see, but I do not monitor because they do not need a neurology consult, are those with suspicion of autism. I try to respect some rules that I have proposed, including teamwork, and send patients with autism to a psychiatrist and a psychologist. Only if my presence is needed, if they have epilepsy, because there are children with autism and epilepsy, then I get involved. There are still children with language delays that I see, but they are also referred to the psychiatrist.
A new category is children with light autism, those who are watching a lot of TV, but they are not autistic, but are “autized” by the environment they are in.
What does looking a lot at television mean?
Watching an hour and more a day at television is a lot for a kid … I think there are very few children who only watch an hour a day at TV … Indeed, but there are many children who stay and half a day on television. They eat at TV, sit on a pot on front of TV, all their life is in a room where there is a TV set. Parents are pleased that they are well behaved. Mothers say, “I have to cook, I have the house chores and then it’s easy for me.” But I was wondering what my mother was doing with me in the 70’s. And she was cooking, and she had a job, and I was not staying in front of the TV. It is no less true that society has changed, that we are living in a greater stress, but I do not think we have to hide behind these things. We need to learn to manage our time and, very importantly, to have the courage to raise our children. Our parents were more courageous. Children do not want to come to this world, and then we have to assume them. “Turn off the TV!”
What do you tell parents with kids “autized” by TV?
I’m very radical. Turn off the TV! (laughs) I did this “experiment”, more of my curiosity as a parent, not as a professional, in the case of some children I realized they did not have autism. I evaluated the child, along with my colleagues, and proposed to parents “to make a test, to see what happens in a month in which your TV broke down, it’s a black box, not even you look at it.” There are parents who say “but he’s not watching TV, because it is on a news post.” Does not matter. The screen is an attraction for the child and he receives anything. I propose to parents to get involved in the lives of children, to go to the park, to the theater, to read together, to tell stories, to draw, to do anything, but not with audiovisual means. The extremely pleasant surprise was that parents returned with other children after only a month. It’s magic, say the parents. Children want the affection of their parents, they open up and rarely happen to see no progress. In a few months, children lost in the TV world are coming back to reality. It’s hard at first, but the baby slightly forgets the TV and is happy to spend time with the parent. It’s a quality time …
I do not agree with this formula. Usually, when we say quality time means little. There are parents who say “yes, but I stay for half an hour old and I’m all his.” I think even if we would stay for three hours with the baby beside, it would be even better. We can not hide behind this modern formula in which we spend quality time, but the amount is not. We must strive for as much free time as we have to spend with the baby. The best example is children with a very good material situation coming to my office and, when asked what they want, they say they do not know. I find it so sad for a child not to know what to want. I leave my children all the time wanting things. You can not live without wanting anything. If everything is perfect in your life, at some point you get bored with such perfection.
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