Letters to the Editor
View(s):Electronic gadgets can be great ‘babysitters’ but they can be harmful to kids too
In this modern, scientific, technological and computerised world we live in, electronic devices such as computers, smart phones, tabs and tablets dominate our lives. People depend on them not just for work and entertainment, but to stay connected. But excessive use of these electronic devices has its disadvantages especially when it comes to children.
Children nowadays are fond of using these devices for enjoyment but little understand their negative effects. Parents simply buy these devices to make their kids happy. Although children gain momentary amusement and pleasure by playing with these devices, we forget the health hazards. When kids play games on computers and other devices, they sit engrossed for a long time which can lead to backaches, neck aches and shoulder strain. Take laptops -as the monitor and keyboard are so close, users either lift their shoulders to type, or tend to hunch.
While bright light, high screen contrasts and flickering images may make a game or video more exciting, they take their toll on children’s eyes. Squinting at a small hand-held device adds to the strain. An enraptured kid is also less likely to blink! Additionally, not spending time on outdoor activities exposes children to the risk of developing myopia. Many kids complain of dry eyes, a burning sensation in the eyes – symptoms of eye strain.
Headaches are another complaint from kids who play video games for a long time. Studies have shown that overuse increases stress levels and constant stress over a prolonged period could adversely affect the heart, sleep, digestion and emotions of children. Playing games late into the night can affect sleeping patterns.
Another alarming effect is obesity. Tech devices make great babysitters because they keep kids still for so long, but that lack of physical activity is a major contributing factor to childhood obesity and its accompanying risks.This also leads to physical fatigue for when a kid spends too much time on a device it doesn’t just drain the brain; it tires the body, too and being still for long periods reduces blood circulation and can put stress on muscles and joints.
Moreover, young children spending time on electronic devices have less time to interact with family members and friends that will indirectly retard their linguistic development and social skills. Even if during the COVID-19 lockdown, kids confined to their homes, kept themselves occupied with these electronic devices, now with the country slowly returning to normalcy and schools reopening, it is up to parents to limit the hours their kids spend playing games on computers and mobile phones.
Making children aware of the adverse effects of using electronic devices for many hours each day will help drive home the message.
M. Jalaldeen Isfan Via email
Appeal to new Minister to get wheels of justice moving faster
In Sri Lanka the wheels of justice grind so slowly that court cases take an inordinately long time to conclude – some of the litigants and key witnesses might be dead by then. In some cases of child rape, the victims have become mothers of over 30 years by the time the judgment is delivered.
Recently, a judgment in a murder trial was delivered on the eve of the Parliamentary election at which the convicted was a candidate who secured a seat in the new Parliament. This purported murder had taken place in late 2014, prior to the 2015 Presidential poll. It took five years for the trial to conclude. With an appeal pending, the conclusion might take five years, the term of Parliament.
Last week’s Sunday Times focused on the pending court cases of newly elected Members of Parliament. Some have dragged on for years. It is difficult to understand how a case of a fraudulently obtained passport can’t be decided even after several years.
It is the expectation of the citizens that their elected representatives are legally above board. Justice should be delivered without undue delay at least in cases involving public figures.
This is an earnest request to the newly appointed Minister of Justice to devise mechanisms to expedite cases. ‘Justice delayed is justice denied’.
A.G. Abeysinghe Gampaha
It was Mr Fowzie who initially proposed positive changes to Birth Certificate
A news item doing the rounds these days is about the changes proposed to the official Certificate of Birth.
One of the pertinent changes would be to scrap the requirement where parents of a new born have to declare whether they are legally married or not. Authorities expect that this move will ease one of the major invisible problems some parents face when seeking school admission for their children and also will help to eradicate the stigmatization of the problematic paternity issue of an innocent child.
How the moralists will take up this move is yet to be seen!
If my memory serves me right the person who proposed this idea first and came to the rescue of such hapless parents was none other than Mr. A.H.M Fowzie when he was the Minister of Health many years ago. He wanted to remove this sensitive information which could cause emotional agony for some parents from the CoB. But for some unknown reason it did not see the light of day.
Once visiting an office of a Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths I told the female Registrar that I came with regard to a CoB matter. When she showed me a blank CoB, I saw that this requirement still remained and she told me that getting this information from the informants sometimes caused unpleasant or problematic situations for her.
She said that a father who had come that morning to obtain the CoB for his baby born the previous day, had submitted all the necessary documents including their Certificate of Marriage to which I said “ then, no problem madam .” “Aiyo, ae unata ae denna bendala thiyenne pereyida!” (Oh, but they had got married the day before yesterday ) she exclaimed.
This wise duo, had in the nick of time taken the appropriate step to register their marriage to save their innocent babe being stigmatised.
D. Samaranayake Battaramulla