A developmental Paediatrician, Dr. Yvonne Nana Ama Brew, has sounded the alarm over children’s growing addiction to screen time, urging parents to take immediate and deliberate steps to “humanise” their children through real, meaningful human interaction.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Tuesday, May 13, on early childhood development, she described screen time addiction as a looming crisis that is slowly eroding the fundamental social, emotional, and cognitive abilities of children across the country.
“Children are not computers. We need our children to interact with human beings so they can learn to socialise, communicate, and even know how to fight fairly,” she said emphatically.
Dr. Brew’s comments come at a time when experts globally are raising red flags over children’s heavy reliance on screens from phones and tablets to televisions and computers.
Studies have shown that while screens can offer educational value when used appropriately, excessive exposure, especially when unsupervised, can impair executive functioning, reduce academic performance, and disrupt language development.
“The issue is very serious. Many of the children we see today struggle with simple social cues, emotional regulation, and basic communication because they have been isolated with screens from infancy.”
She explained that screen time often replaces essential caregiver-child interactions that are critical for a child’s development.
“Some parents don’t even know how to talk to their kids. When we ask certain parents to hold a conversation with their children, we realise that many of them have never done so since the child was born, she revealed. “
To address this, Dr. Brew advocated for what she called a “humanisation” process, emphasising that parents must take the initiative by turning off electronic devices and creating space for face-to-face conversations and shared activities.
“Start communicating with your child like a human being. Remove the screens, phones, tablets, and TVs and replace them with stories, questions, and eye contact.”
She warned that if this trend is not reversed, Ghana could begin to face the same social crises observed in some developed countries.
“In a few years, we will start experiencing situations where children are unable to tolerate basic human interaction or everyday noises. And that is how some of these children abroad are now picking up guns to silence the world around them. We must not let it get to that point,” she cautioned.