Touch Screen deteriorating Handwriting skill of Kids

Some reports published in early 2018 claimed that touch screen usage by kids is making them unable to write with hand. Lack of finger skills necessary to hold a pencil properly is found responsible for that. Pediatricians claim that over usage of touchscreen phones and tablets by kids and lack of playing with toys, blocks, clay and colors is responsible for this effect. Researchers believe that if we don't understand the severity of these reports then it might have some very bad results in future.

How Touch Screen deteriorating Handwriting skill of Kids ?

Now a days parents find an unused smartphone as a good toy for their kids or ever toddlers. These devices turn out to be addictive for kids and they don't find any thing else interesting. Instead of doing some physical activity, playing with toys or holding colors to draw something on paper, they find smartphone more useful. Now kids play music on phone, scroll through pics, click pics and play games (most addictive) and don't want anybody to stop them from doing that. All these touch screen skills require just a touch by fingertip. It does not provide enough opportunity to muscles in fingers to develop the skill of very fine movements which is required in writing.

According to Sally Payne, a head pediatric therapist, 10 years ago kids have better strength in their hands and fingers to hold and write with a pencil.

Whom to blame ?
Parents ! Yes it is the fault of parents who find their unused smartphones or ipads, a better toy for their kids, instead of making them play with actual toys, taking them for a walk or playing with them. Parents have less time for such necessary activities as they spend that precious time in their own phones. To don't get disturbed they give a far more addictive toy in hands of their kids which puts their all-around-development at risk.

Some of the modern kids don't know how to hold pencil. When the pencil is given to them for the first time in school, they hold it totally wrong and can't control it as they should. Teach your kid to hold pencil yourself at home and it it goes wrong then try to correct them. Your timely intervention can help your child.

Evolution going backwards
Once i heard that technology is making human evolution go backwards. The skills that once developed in our body during evolution are now deteriorating. It is because we are no longer using those skills. One such skill is handwriting, if we don't teach our young generation the art of writing then a number of other arts like painting and sculpturing will be extinct soon.

Some talents are becoming rare in modern kids like making sketches, painting and calligraphy which require very fine control over your fingers. We need to spend some time on proper development of kids and keep in mind the importance of actual world, instead of the virtual world that we see in our smartphones.

Reference:
https://nypost.com/2018/03/01/smartphone-addicted-kids-cant-hold-pencils-anymore/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5435015/Touchscreen-happy-children-weak-hold-pencil.html
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/feb/25/children-struggle-to-hold-pencils-due-to-too-much-tech-doctors-say

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