Bengaluru: Five year old Nayana’s (name changed) drawing of her family was an eye-opener. Showing a man seated with a laptop, a woman gazing at a laptop and a child playing on a tablet around a television set occupying centre-stage in the house, it reflected her idea of a new age nuclear family. “A picture says a thousand words and Nayana’s drawing of her family said it all,” said child psychologist, Chaitra.S.

While children of working parents often get very little attention today, what’s causing child psychologists and speech therapists in the city more concern is that many seem to be suffering from speech problems as a result of their preoccupation with gadgets that they get hooked on to from an early age.

Audiologist and speech therapist, Neerja Tripathi says there has been a rise in cases of children with speech problems over the last three years in the city. “In any given week I treat at least eight to nine children with speech problems.

Often, the problem lies with children not talking at all or talking in the tone of their favourite cartoon character. When parents are busy with work, children are left to play with gadgets or watch television. It’s a passive mode of communication which doesn’t require them to respond and hence the speech troubles,” she explained.

Fortunately, parents seem to be becoming aware of their children’s condition early, allowing them to get the treatment they need, reveals Ms J.Jose, a speech therapist.

“There was a time when parents ignored speech problems thinking their child was a late talker. But now they have understood that a child must meet a certain developmental milestone at a certain age and they must identify the problem as soon as possible if it exists,” she added.

Child psychologist, Andal M, also believes early exposure to gadgets delays the onset of speech among children. “Even year old toddlers are exposed to gadgets. Although they are supposed to say words like ‘Amma’ (Mom) or ‘Appa’ (Dad) within a year, they continue to communicate with gestures and signs. If they continue to communicate this way even at two, there’s a definite problem.

Not very surprisingly, children in joint families have less complaints like these while the number is high among nuclear families,” she revealed. The answer, according to therapists, lies in parents communicating with the children or instructing nannies and caretakers to actively engage the children in two-way communication.