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Studies show that the pandemic increases screen addiction in children and leads to a lack of attention. Stating that parents who succumb to the 3T (phone, tablet and television) monster have a big role in this increase, Yükselen Zeka Publishing House Founder Sabri Yardılmış said, “It is very normal for children exposed to the screen to lag behind in their development areas and experience disorders. They have problems not only in the cognitive sphere, but also in other areas of development”

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ISTANBUL (TR) - The increase in time spent at the screen with the pandemic negatively affects the development process of children, especially in the 3-6 age category. The conducted research reveals that it has become mandatory to limit the screen time. A study conducted by the University of Calgary proves that 24- and 36-month-old babies underperform on behavioral, cognitive and social screening tests due to an increase in the amount of time they spend at the screen. Performance decreases is noted even more in children over 36 months of age. Stating that children should be completely keep away from the screen and their development should be supported with educational sets and games, Sabri Yaradmış, the founder of Yükselen Zeka Publishing House, said, “Parents are looking for solutions for their children who have attention deficit due to the 3T monster consisting of phones, tablets and televisions. Educational kits can guide parents in strengthening children's attention and supporting learning skills. However, it has no therapeutic effect. The treatment of this disease can only be done by physicians.

5 different areas of development should be focused on

Emphasizing the need to focus on 5 different development areas in the games developed based on the lack of attention that occurs in parallel with the increasing screen addiction in children, Yaradılmış said, “Games to develop cognitive, psychomotor, language and speech, psychosocial, emotional and self-care skills support the healthy development of children. Games that neglect any of these areas are of no use to children.”

Beware of copy games

Stating that there are many brands that develop educational games in the market, Yaradılmış says, “Hundreds of toys and educational sets are offered for sale, which are produced without considering the developmental stages of children. Some Turkish companies copy foreign game companies. While doing this, they change the task cards or materials in the game in order to avoid legal obstacles. I recommend that parents do very good research when purchasing products for their children” 

Switching to working from home opened the door to the 3T monster

Stating that parents unintentionally reflect the stress of business life to their children during the pandemic period, Yaradılmış said, “Continuing business life from home opened the door to the 3T monster. Parents removed phones, tablets and phones from being a vehicle by saying, "Let my child eat or sleep, I'll take care of my business". Parents who used these devices as a purpose faced sad consequences. It is very normal for children exposed to screens to fall behind in their developmental areas and experience disorders. These children have problems not only in the cognitive domain, but also in other developmental domains.”

Increasing calls for help from parents

Emphasizing that they received many calls for help from parents due to the lack of attention experienced by their children during the pandemic, Yaradılmış said, “We do not only focus on attention deficit in our games and training sets developed for children. We support the development of children in different areas with our games targeting all developmental stages. Pointing out that the games developed for children of any age category should be prepared by a team of experts in their field, Yaradılmış said, “There are psychologists, classroom and branch teachers, guidance specialists, graphic designers and painters in our editorial board. We prepare all our games under their supervision and bring them together with children and parents.”