Are You Unknowingly Overstimulating Your Child’s Brain? (4 out of 5 Parents are Guilty)
Written by: Kokotree
Last updated:
Like most busy parents, you probably have difficulty keeping your toddler entertained.
Most parents turn to apps that feature endless streams of videos for their little ones to watch.
While this may seem harmless to keep your child occupied, it can be detrimental to their development.
How overstimulation affects your toddler.
Most video apps and streaming services offer thousands (or even hundreds of thousands) of videos for kids.
These apps provide tons of manipulative features that can quickly overstimulate your child’s brain.
For example:
- “Swipe to skip” or “Infinity scroll” features. These features allow your child to skip from video to video in an endless rabbit hole. This can make them feel overwhelmed, which increases stress.
- “Autoplay” features. These features automatically start playing the next video after the current one ends. There’s no break, just constant stimulation.
And when you combine swipe to skip and autoplay with “fancy algorithms” that deliver the most engaging content (loud, flashy videos) …
… your child’s dopamine continuously gets spiked—which leads to addiction.
When your child is overstimulated, they lose focus.
Constantly stimulating your child’s brain with bright, flashy, loud videos, leads to shorter attention spans and it leads to problems focusing
Studies have shown that too much choice can lead to anxiety and stress.
When choosing an app for your toddler, less is more.
Less is more.
Limiting the amount of screen time your toddler has each day is essential because too much screen time can lead to sleep problems. It’s critical to strike a balance.
Choose educational apps for kids that offer a limited selection of high-quality videos.
This will help your child learn to focus and pay attention for more extended periods.
What should you look for in a video streaming app for your toddler?
There are plenty of so-called educational apps out there that provide poor quality content and bombard your toddler with too much choice.
When choosing online educational videos for your child, there are essential and specific things to look for.
Videos for young children must be:
- Slow-paced
- Calm
- Smooth movements
- Focused visuals
- Soothing music and sounds
Look for apps with minimal designs and a limited number of videos.
Apps that provide offline reinforcement activities that you can play with your child will help their brain development.
These “smart screen time“ apps will help your toddler focus and avoid becoming overwhelmed.
And when it comes to finding the right app for your toddler, that’s precisely what you want.
What’s better than constantly overstimulating your child’s brain?
Smart screen time.
Kokotree is an educational app that helps your child learn basic academic concepts like numbers, shapes, colors, and the alphabet.
Kokotree is for kids, ages 1 to 5. And it’s perfect for busy parents who want to give their toddler or preschooler a head start on their education.
Instead of passively watching cartoons, your child will be engaged in active, smart screen time—through educational videos that improve their cognitive development.
With Kokotree, your child will learn:
- Listening skills and curiosity.
- Imagination, creativity, and sense of humor.
- Numbers, letters, and the alphabet.
- Colors, counting, rhyming, and memory.
- Days of the week, months of the year.
- Sounds, emotions, patterns.
- And more.
Your child deserves more. Try Kokotree Today.
Get started freeNo credit card required.
Not quite ready yet? Learn more about Kokotree
In conclusion
It’s essential to be selective about the content your toddler consumes. Educational apps with thousands of videos available with just one swipe should be avoided. Too much video stimulation can overstimulate a toddler’s growing brain and impede development. Instead, choose apps with a limited number of high-quality videos that will educate and entertain your toddler without overwhelming them.
TLDR. Here are the important points you should know.
- Like most busy parents, you probably have difficulty keeping your toddler entertained, and most turn to apps that feature endless streams of videos for their little ones to watch.
- This can be detrimental to their development as it can overstimulate their brain, leading to focus, attention span, and sleep problems.
- Overstimulation can happen due to features such as “swipe to skip,” “infinity scroll,” and “Autoplay,” which can cause your child to feel overwhelmed and stressed.
- Studies have shown that too much choice can lead to anxiety and stress.
- Limiting your toddler’s screen time each day is essential because too much screen time can lead to sleep problems. It’s critical to strike a balance.
- When choosing an app for your toddler, choose apps with a limited number of high-quality videos that will educate and entertain your toddler without overwhelming them.
- Videos for young children should be slow-paced, calm, smooth movements, focused visuals, soothing music, and sounds.
- Apps that provide offline reinforcement activities will help their brain development.
- An example of such an educational app is Kokotree, it helps your child learn basic academic concepts like numbers, shapes, colors, and the alphabet, and it’s perfect for busy parents who want to give their toddler or preschooler a head start on their education.
Keep reading: up next …
In the next post: Are you damaging your child brain with too much screen time?
Previous post: Here’s Why Your Child Deserves High-Quality Educational Content
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