Warning: We Have No Idea What Tablets And Smartphones Are Doing To Our Children

Just how much screen time is appropriate for your child?

That seems to be the question lately with the rise of tablet and smartphone usage.

Unfortunately, we still don't have an answer.

Nick Bilton of The New York Times reports.

"We really don't know the full neurological effects of these technologies yet,
Dr. Garry Small, director of the Longevity Center at the University of California, Los Angeles, told Bilton. "Children, like adults, vary quite a lot, and some are more sensitive than others to an abundance of screen time."

Since the brain is very sensitive to stimuli, Dr. Small says, engaging with tablets and other technological devices at the dinner table instead of people could affect a child's communications skills later down the road.

But the same goes for children sitting at the dinner table with, for example, a crayon book. In both cases, the child is missing out on learning how to interact with people.