Parents may be easily tempted to give their children gadgets to make them behave. However, a new study encourages them to swap devices with dolls. MailOnline reported that Cardiff University researchers revealed that children who play dolls tend to think more about other people's emotions, and thoughts than those who play electronic devices.
Study lead author Dr. Sarah Gerson said children role-play with dolls what they see in real life. It shows higher rates of social and emotional processing that builds empathy, which they internalize and become part of their lifelong habits.
A girl plays with Barbie dolls on April 17, 2015 in Paris, in a structure set-up close to a Barbie doll camper van which will tour 15 towns and cities in France.
What Happens in the Brain of Children While Playing With Dolls?
In the study commissioned by Barbie, researchers observed 33 boys and girls between 4 to 8 years old to play with either a Barbie doll or a tablet. The team aims to understand the effects of playing with different toys.
Dr. Gerson explained in their paper, titled "Doll Play Prompts Social Thinking and Social Talking: Representations of Internal State Language in the Brain" published in Developmental Science, that playing with dolls prompted internal state language (ISL) as children start to talk out loud about what they are thinking and feeling.
She added that ISL indicates that children also think of other people's emotions, thoughts, and knowledge. That means they display key social skills needed to navigate all types of social interactions.
In a news release via Frontiers for Young finds, researchers said that they also used near-infrared spectroscopy to study the brain activity of children as they play the dolls and gadgets. It reveals that playing with dolls activates the posterior temporal sulcus (pSTS). It is a part of the brain involved in emotional development and social skills.
Conversely, they found that playing tablets only made children talk about the characters in the game, and they did not enact their roles. That means children practice these skills during role-play with dolls and not while playing with the gadgets.
The findings of the study can be applied in both boys and girls, which showed that playing with dolls is beneficial to all children and not gender-specific. Researchers recommend playing dolls to encourage children to emulate scenes and interactions they observe in their daily lives, such as what they see with their parents or teachers.
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How Much Screentime is Allowed for Kids?
Screens are virtually everywhere, so monitoring a child's screen time can be challenging. According to Mayo Clinic, the problem with screen time is that sometimes it involves educational support for kids but has various adverse side effects. Too much screen time could result to inadequate sleep, behavioral problems, delays in language or social skill development, violence, less time learning, and obesity.
So, how should parents manage their kids' screen time?
Mayo Clinic cited the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines that discourage media in children younger than 18 months. They said that children ages 18 to 24 months must not use gadgets alone, while 2 to 5-year-old children should have a limited one hour a day of high-quality programming.
More so, they recommend implementing rules to ensure quality screen time and that children do not receive too much of it. They also suggest that parents preview programs, games, and apps before allowing their children to use the gadgets, seek out interactive options to engage kids, use parental controls to filter internet content, and educate children about what they are watching.
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