A Child Development Consultant, Dr. Enifome Ogbimi, connected late speech development in youngsters to too much screen usage.
Dr Ogimi, who was a guest on Channels Television today to mark the 2026 Children’s Day, called on parents to limit their children’s screen use to not more than one hour daily to avoid the youngsters from developing speech late.
“Too much screen time is damaging to children’s brains. But when we remove the screen, we find some of them begin to speak earlier. Some are late speakers.
“Parents come to us saying, ‘My kids aren’t talking. Your child is not talking because of excessive screen time.
“They are supposed to have face-to-face interaction time, which is a lifelong skill, but they are not getting it,” he said.
“There must be a limit. If you must offer a youngster screen time it should not exceed one hour.”
She appealed to the parents and guardians to pay more attention to understanding the growth stages of their children to groom them into healthy individuals.
“We cannot celebrate children we do not understand. Children should not be conditioned to serve the wants of adults in society. The opposite should be the case. And that’s why there is this expectation gap. We need to ask what developmental capabilities do children have? What can they do against the demands of adults?
“So kids start to act out when they’re doing things they’re not developmentally capable of.
“We must understand children so that we can really appreciate them on Children’s Day.
“We have to meet them where they are developmentally and bring them to where we want them to be.
“There is a need for parents to understand developmental science and neuroscience of our children to be able to train them appropriately.
“This is not about gentle parenting, about cuddling. It’s about knowing where the child is in their development so you don’t expect too much from them, even when they are below that expectations for their age.
“It is important that all caregivers partner with institutions and government to inform them how children will survive. “Different levels of their needs must be satisfied”
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