# Keeping kids away from screens will make them happier, and this is how you can do it

1 Opinion April 11, 2017 Stern in the News ![](/sites/default/files/styles/246w/public/assets/images/con_039609.jpg?itok=CCpkQx8H) By Adam Alter > As far as devices are concerned, the longer you can resist the better. There is no benefit in early childhood that can’t be achieved in other ways.

***A whole generation of kids who were born into this era, yet we don’t know what the effects of the technology will be on them as they grow***

My son was just four months old the first time he touched an iPhone.

He was sitting on my lap while I was checking my email. He reached, swiped, saw the screen change at his touch — and it was the first time he had ever smiled.

A baby’s world is unpredictable but these devices are so intuitive they make a young child feel a sense of control.

Nowadays I won’t even get my iPhone and iPad out in front of Sam.

We know all the exposure kids have to tech nowadays could have grave effects but we aren’t entirely sure what they are yet.

Read the full article as published by *[T](https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3304850/keeping-kids-away-from-screens-will-make-them-happier-and-this-is-how-you-can-do-it/)*[*he Sun*](https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3304850/keeping-kids-away-from-screens-will-make-them-happier-and-this-is-how-you-can-do-it/).

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*Adam Alter is an Associate Professor of Marketing with affiliated appointment in the Psychology Department.*## More Opinions by Adam Alter

- [Kids Are Better Friends When They Spend Time Away From Screens](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/faculty-research/kids-are-better-friends-when-they-spend-time-away-from-screens)
- [2017 : What Scientific Term Or Concept Ought To Be More Widely Known?](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/faculty-research/2017-what-scientific-term-or-concept-ought-be-more-widely-known)
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- [The Spiritual Life of the Long-Distance Runner](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/faculty-research/spiritual-life-long-distance-runner)