Young Child Speaks Japanese and Chinese from Mobile Reel Watching, Raises Concerns

In today’s world, where smartphones are everywhere, worries are growing about how much time children spend glued to screens. A concerning incident has surfaced in Jabalpur, where a four-year-old child, exposed to a lot of screen time on mobile phones, has started speaking Japanese and Chinese, languages that are unfamiliar to his Hindi-speaking parents.

The child’s parents got a caretaker to help manage him. To calm the child down, the caretaker would give him a mobile phone when he got upset. Over time, the child, now four years old, spent six to seven hours every day watching videos on the phone. Shockingly, he began speaking Japanese and Chinese like the characters in the videos, leaving his parents confused.

This case highlights the dangers of spending too much time in front of screens, which can affect a child’s language development and might even increase the chances of autism. A doctor mentions that spending a lot of time looking at screens, especially on mobiles and TVs, can be harmful to children under seven years old. It can stop them from learning their native language properly. These children might start copying languages they hear and see on screens, which is worrying for their language skills.

The child is now getting treatment at the medical college hospital in Jabalpur, showing how important it is for parents to control and limit their kids’ screen time.

Doctors advise parents not to give mobile phones to young children and suggest other ways to keep them occupied, like playing interactive games, telling stories in their own language, and singing songs. Cutting down on screen time is crucial for protecting children’s language skills and overall health.