EARLY childhood, especially the first five years of life, is a crucial period for babies as it determines their cognitive development and impacts lifelong health. It is a period of rapid development and demands extreme attention from families whose lifestyle patterns cast big effect on a child’s growth. Latest guidelines from the World Health Organisation (WHO) have sounded alarm bells over growing obesity in kids below five years due to the large amount of time spent in fiddling with mobile screens and exposure to television.

 

The UN health agency has warned of grave consequences of the growing habit of handing over mobiles to young children. It has recommended no screen time to one-year olds and maximum one hour daily to kids under five years. It is the primary responsibility of parents and families to shun the pathetic habit of exposing youngsters to cell phones. Handing over cell to keep kids busy has become the easiest tool for today’s parents. How dangerous the habit is can be gauged from the WHO study report.