The Malaysian Paediatric Association (MPA) believes that children would also be drawn towards the gadgets when they watch adults glued to their electronic devices.

Speaking to FMT, Dr Zulkifli Ismail, Chairman of the Positive Parenting Management Committee for MPA said, “A child’s brain develops fastest in the first two years of his or her life.

“These two formative years should be filled with human interaction, social development, verbal and non-verbal language acquisition, acquiring of social nuances, etcetera.”

Electronic devices deprive children of human interaction – a factor that is crucial for development of behaviours, interactions and personalities, he added.

He suggested “healthier” alternative activities for parents to occupy children’s time, such as engaging in descriptive conversations, singing, gardening, asking them to help with simple household chores, and playing with toys that stimulate eye-coordination and exercise their imagination.

“Traditional play things, such as pieces of paper and colour pencils, as well as crayons and play dough are also much better alternatives to electronic gadgets,” he said.

According to him, children below the age of two should not be exposed to screen viewing at all and those between two and five years of age, may be allowed limited viewing time as determined by adults – perhaps one to two hours daily on a staggered basis.

Children aged above five may be given a little leeway, he said.

“Any child who parts easily with a device when he or she is playing should be alright.

“It is when a parent or guardian has to fight with a child to get back the device, which should concern the adult involved.”

Zulkifli said it was imperative for parents to view an application before downloading and allowing their children to play with them.

“Children should never be allowed to download or view apps and videos by themselves.”

He stressed that technology should never serve as a substitute for human interaction or parental guidance.

“The danger here is that parents themselves are engrossed in their mobile phone apps while their children are left with theirs.

“There will be an emotional disconnect then,” he said, adding that families should designate specific timing, such as meal times or before bedtime, where the use of electronic devices and gadgets should be completely left out.