With technology creeping into everyday life, parents are increasingly being judged by their children's use of gadgets like smartphones, iPods and tablets.
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TV presenter Lisa Wilkinson this week branded parents “crazy” if they let small children use iPads.
One Wagga mum has warned others about the potential harm these gadgets can do.
Gemma Ramage experienced the risk of too much screen time first hand after her son’s eyesight was damaged.
He got his first iPod when he was almost six years old but holding the screen too close to his face resulted in him going cross-eyed.
The now nine-year-old has to wear an eyepatch over his good eye to try and get the other eye to straighten out.
If that doesn’t work he will have to have surgery in the future which involves cutting the muscle in the eye.
“I have pictures of his eyes before and after he got the iPod,” Mrs Ramage said.
“(His eye damage) happened within three to six months of using it.
“The optometrist said they have seen a fair few kids with similar problems.”
The mum hopes to warn other parents of the dangers and encourage them to limit kids screen time.
“I’ve seen children as young as one being given a phone with games, children don’t need technology at that age," Mrs Ramage said.
“I just think it’s the worst way to pacify a child.
“It’s isolating the child they don’t know how to connect, they should be reading books and using their imagination.
“Don’t get me wrong I'm not against sitting down for half an hour on an educational ap.”
Possums Child Care Director Megan Cameron said they limit screen lime as much as possible at the centre which caters to kids from six-weeks-old to six-years-old.
“We try not to let kids use them (tablets or iPads),” she said.
“We try to do more movement based activities with the kids.”
The devices are only used at the facility for educational purposes or during quiet time. Mrs Cameron feels too much time on the device is bad for the child's development.
“It doesn’t allow them to interact with people,” she said.
“They are solely focused on the screen and not thinking about what's going on in the background, they are only focused on what’s on the screen. It’s not a good learning tool in my opinion.”
