Is it possible that lately the guardian angels do not have so much parental help? Children play in the park while their mothers or fathers are waiting for the phone. The same happens at home: the screens of mobile phones or tablets have us more and more attentive to what happens in them and not around us. And that can translate into child accidents.
In recent years there has been a worrying rise in injuries in children, and many doctors believe that this increase is directly related to the increasing use of mobile devices by parents, which would support the thesis that we cannot do two Things at once.
I would not be surprised if many of these professionals who have reached this conclusion are doctors who see injured children and their parents attached to the phone to the emergency room ... And if it is proven that the use of the telephone causes more accidents driving or crossing a street, Isn't it logical to think that we also get confused when it comes to watching our children?
I have witnessed how the simple fact of Talking on the phone can lead to carelessness with our children, which fix the view on the screen, whether to write a message, or to read or watch a video, will make us much less aware of the little ones. And, although it is not always true, usually the more eyes there are, the more watched the children are. Sure, they have to be eyes attentive to children and not to other necessities.
Child accidents on the rise after years of decline
Non-fatal injuries to children under five years of age increased by 12% between 2007 and 2010, after falling for much of the previous decade, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States, based on the records of the Emergency Rooms.
On the other hand, the number of Americans over 13 who have a smartphone o Smartphone has grown from almost nine million in mid-2007 to 63 million at the end of 2010 and 114 million in July 2012, according to a comScore investigation.
Child safety experts point out that injury rates had declined since at least the 1970s, thanks especially to measures that made parks, stairs, houses, swimming pools safer ... It was encouraging to see how the numbers were going down since then, trend that changed towards 2007.
Taking data since 2002, a increase between 6% and 105% in different cases of childhood injuries, according to statistics from the Consumer Security Commission of the United States government, which tracks injuries by type of product.
The most worrying increase is the risk of drowning (when the child is about to suffocate) and that related to accidents in swimming pools, but all accidents increase considerably compared to previous years: falls, bumps, injuries ...
For example, injuries during children's games among children under five years of age increased by 17% between 2007 and 2010, following the downward trend of the last five years. Injuries involving childcare material, such as changing tables, cribs ... increased by 31% among children under five.
Other possible reasons for the increase in injuries
Specialists say there are no formal studies or statistics to establish a true connection between the distracting mobile device and childhood injuries. What exists is an association, and that is precisely why we should try investigate and clarify if there is a cause-consequence relationship ascertainable.
But the case is that there could be other factors involved in the increase of injuries, such as a more reckless behavior of children (although there are studies that indicate that this greater assumption is risk is precisely because the children do not feel observed) or a greater tendency to take children to the ER, so it would be good to thoroughly investigate the causes.
Even the crisis and the cuts in the budget of the schools could influence the increasing figures according to some, although the fact that the ages between the ages of five and nine have suffered a minor increase in injuries compared to the group of children Smaller (who still do not go to school) may contradict this option.
In any case, it is difficult to establish that a distraction from the father or mother was responsible for the accident, because it is not easy for the parent to recognize him or to be asked about it in the hospital, unless there are signs of suspicion of negligence.
And that negligence, sometimes you have to explain it to a judge, as in real cases of death of children because the mother or father was looking at the phone and not his son. It seems that there are no cases of this type in the police archives.
In addition, parents underestimate both the time and the degree of attention we devote to our mobile devices, according to Barbara Morrongiello, a professor of psychology at the University of Guelph in Canada. According to this expert who has observed 62 families with two-year-old children, 67% of the injuries occurred when a parent was not supervising or was only listening intermittently. The figures drop to 10% when a parent was watching. Isn't it worth the effort?
Psychologists and sociologists prove that the attention placed on mobile devices causes us to reduce attention in our surroundings, even the view is blurred to "erase" what is not on the screen and awareness of it is lost. In short, the ability to react to avoid an accident decreases dramatically.
I don't know if they seem enough data to you consider that mobile devices are enemies of guardian angels. I don't know if you've ever stopped answering the phone because you were with the baby. Or if you told the interlocutor that it was a bad time and that he would call later. Or if you left the WhatsApp or that email, which would not be so urgent, for later.
It seems difficult in these times, but I, just in case, I will think about it before taking my eyes off the little ones to put it on the screens, and especially in higher risk situations where a dismissal can be fatal.
