Dr Rachel Carrell, founder and CEO of Koru Kids, posted on LinkedIn, defending young children watching things on electronic devices.
“Dear Kirstie Allsopp … Yesterday, I was in a cafe on a French beach. My toddler, after a full day of sandcastles, swimming, and relentless heat, was dysregulated and overwhelmed,” she wrote.
“So we gave her my phone to watch Peppa Pig while we played cards with the older two.”
Carrell said that from a neuroscience perspective, allowing a child to watch something on a tablet or a phone was fine.
“When a young child becomes overstimulated, their nervous system flips into a state of fight-or-flight. At this point, the part of the brain responsible for learning, empathy, and self-regulation – the prefrontal cortex – goes offline,” she said.
“They’re not capable of engaging socially in that moment. Forcing a connection is counterproductive.
“Instead, we need to co-regulate. This means helping the nervous system come back to balance. To do so, we could have a cuddle, quiet time, or yes, Peppa Pig.
“A familiar, predictable cartoon can create a ‘white noise’ effect for an overwhelmed child, allowing their brain to settle,” Carrell wrote.
“Meanwhile, I can give my full, present attention to my other children,” she added.
“We parents can try to force this connection for the good of judgey onlookers – but a dysregulated child *cannot* engage meaningfully, so it’s certainly not for the child’s benefit.
“Perhaps that English family in Switzerland were making a strategic choice to meet everyone’s needs.”
According to her LinkedIn, Carrell lives in London and founded Koru Kids in June 2016.
She also holds a Doctorate in International Development from the University of Oxford, where she was a Rhodes Scholar.
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