Children are looking at screens at younger and longer ages. In ten years, the screen time of children aged 0 to 10 has doubled. Children aged 0 to 6 spend an average of 99 minutes a day behind a screen. Dutch baby brain specialist Marion van den Heuvel and Belgian child psychiatrist Theo Compernolle are very concerned about this. They meet in the research laboratory of Tilburg University especially for Kassa and analyse the impact of the tablet on the behaviour of toddlers. We invite four parents for our research. They come to the university building in Tilburg with their toddlers. First they play with toys, until the parents put a tablet on the table. All four children continue playing until the tablet is turned on. Soon the toddlers push the toys aside and only pay attention to Miffy, Tick Tock or the Teletubbies. Marion: “These films are suitable for young children. You can see that they can still communicate with their parents while watching.” When the videos end, three of the four children pick up their toys again. One boy starts crying and begs his mother for more Tik Tak. Compernolle: “You can see the addictive effect here. He reacts more strongly to the tablet than to his regular toys.” When an episode of Paw Patrol or CoComelon is then shown to the toddlers, the atmosphere changes. Kijkwijzer has determined that this content is suitable for all ages, including the youngest, but these experts believe that these programs are not appropriate for the age group. Van den Heuvel: “The storyline is too complex, the images change too quickly and the story has no clear ending.” In the playroom, the mouth of a two-year-old boy remains wide open. He no longer responds to his father's questions. Marion: “If your child does not respond, you know that the content is too heavy. He needs all his brain capacity to be able to comprehend this.” Compernolle: “These children are now turning into a kind of zombie children.” When parents hear through an earpiece that they have to put an end to screen time and turn off the tablet, three out of four children react in anger and with tears. The little ones grab the tablet and don't want to let go. While at the end of the Teletubbies episode they waved back cheerfully, the children are now upset when they have to say goodbye to Cocomelon. Compernolle: "I see the beginning of an addiction in that. This content is made to glue children to the screen." Van den Heuvel: "Research shows that children up to the age of three hardly learn anything from a screen. They do become overstimulated, they don't sleep well, and as a parent you are actually preparing them for a life behind the screen. Why would you do that? Only when parents watch TV or a tablet together with their children can TV or a tablet be educational. But research shows that children usually sit in front of the TV or tablet without parental supervision because it is often used as a babysitter while cooking or when the parent has to work." The Belgian notices to his horror that there are parents who proudly proclaim that their baby 'can already swipe'. According to, you don't have to be proud of that. "It is a big misunderstanding to think that the child learns something from that. Such a baby is in a game and is conditioned like an animal." The experts also warn against the smartphone as a means of comfort regulation. Van den Heuvel: "I see that many parents give their smartphone to the child when he is upset. The child is then not comforted by father or mother but by the phone. When the child is a teenager, he will reach for a controller to play games as comfort. And that also has an addictive effect." This is what you can do as a parent: ???? Teach your children to deal with digital media with the book 'Digital Education' by Marije Lagendijk: https://fontaineuitgevers.nl/producte... ​???? Participate in the parental initiative 'Smartphone-free Growing Up': https://smartphonevrijopgroeien.nl/ ― Kassa is the consumer platform of BNNVARA. Problems with insurance companies and banks, but also issues such as laughing gas, fillers, phishing and ransomware are discussed. We handle individual complaints in the Belbus and we regularly test various products & services. Kassa has been around since 1989 and is presented by Amber Kortzorg and Mai Verbij. Every Saturday at 7:15 PM on NPO 2. Or every Thursday at 4:00 PM on this channel! The latest consumer news, help articles and the consumer forum Questions & Answers can be found on our website: https://kassa.nl. Also follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram & TikTok: / bnnvarakassa / kassa_bnnvara / bnnvarakassa / bnnvarakassa