Contents
For or against baby tablets?
The market for touchscreen tablets is booming. And now, Baby can even have his own since several brands offer models for toddlers. But what about these interactive toys? Are these high-tech objects beneficial for the awakening of toddlers? Elements of response with the psychoanalysts Michaël Stora and Serge Tisseron.
Today, screens are omnipresent in the daily life of parents and children. According to a recent study * carried out among 300 mothers, 80% of toddlers from 1 to 6 years old use their parents’ tablet or smartphone.. And recently, several brands are offering tablets for toddlers, sometimes accessible from… 18 months. But isn’t this too early an immersion in the world of new technologies? For Michaël Stora, psychologist, psychoanalyst and founder of the Observatory of digital worlds, present at a press conference on the subject, video or tablet games stimulate the desire to progress. “There is a staging of rewards: it is by losing that we learn to win. The tablets are objects of mediation for learning. And the child loves to play by “trial and error”. In fact, the wrong answer allows him to find the right one, while at school or in society, the wrong solution is sanctioned, ”explains the specialist. Michaël Stora compares the young player to a “little scientist” who is looking for the exact answer. “It is very interesting between 1-6 years old, when the child is in an omnipotence”. But not all specialists agree on the question. Indeed, Serge Tisseron, psychologist and psychoanalyst, is much less favorable to baby tablets. According to him, “the child first needs spatial (interactions involving his different senses) and temporal landmarks that only traditional toys and books can acquire”. As he explains, the narrativity offered by the stories helps to develop the child’s event memory. In fact, to understand a new situation, “the child must remember what he has heard or read previously”. However, by having too early and too frequent access to screens, children can have “difficulties in building a logical and organized thought”.
Tablets, real or fake early learning toys?
“As Freud said, there is no learning without hedonic experience, without pleasure. Fun is essential in order to appropriate information, ”emphasizes Michaël Stora. For the psychologist, this game mode makes it possible to emphasize “proprioception”: the child is aware that he is indeed the author of the acts.. “We are in the era of ‘Digital natives’. Children love to manipulate the image and make it their own. Touch is intuitive for toddlers ”. But Serge Tisseron specifies that it is only about “epicritic touch” (fine touch). He recalls that on tablets, children cannot exercise the “protopathic touch”, consisting in feeling the constitution of the object. “The child needs multisensory simulations, but this type of game only stimulates hearing, sight and fine touch. The baby cannot throw his toy on the ground, or put it in his mouth, which is important for the toddler’s development, ”explains Serge Tisseron.
No to the “digital nurse”
The two specialists agree on one point: parents should always accompany their child when using the tablet. For Michaël Stora, this tool “can fill a form of separation between the little one and his parents, without replacing the mother. Adults should always play with the child first. It’s a way to share a moment of pleasure. Over time, the little one will be able to play it on his own, ”he explains. For Serge Tisseron, supporting parents is also essential. Even if he recommends limiting screens as much as possible before the age of 3, the psychoanalyst believes that children can enjoy digital objects, but for short periods of time. “The tablets can be used but in addition to traditional toys. And it is better to choose games that include narration ”. Doctor Tisseron also advises parents to comment on the games, to explain the story’s progress: “it is important to bring to the screens from the outside, marks of temporality and causality. New technologies are promising but the possibilities for babies are still limited. And buying a tablet just for a little one seems pointless to me, ”concludes the specialist.
In the end, it’s up to you whether or not you want to introduce your little one to digital tablets.. But whether you lend him yours or give him one specially designed for young children, one watchword is essential: play in moderation.
* Institut des mamans, May 2012