Parenting woes- How to deal with gadget- addicted kids
Being a parent is a challenging task and with little help and guidance you need to figure out every decision concerning your child yourself.
Since God could not be everywhere, He created parents! We have all grown up listening to this century old adage and have kept our parents in lieu of the Almighty. But this statement gets reversed in literal terms when you become a parent and deal with the reality that comes with parenthood.
Thanks to the technology, kids have become extremely addicted to gadgets. Whether it is a 2 year old or a 7 year old or even a 10 months old baby, every kid of the so called new generation is hooked on to these gadgets. The points of concern for parents are many at this juncture. Harmful effects on the eyes, impaired brain development, lack of physical activity, lack of concentration levels, minimal social interaction are few of the most common worry areas for parents. Also in such situations, parents have little control over how the child is perceiving a particular content that is being displayed on the screen. Online channels like You tube and search engine giant like Google have millions of websites, videos, images etc that are circulated online. To save your children from an early age exposure to videos not suitable for them, it is best to not give them access to your phone and other gadgets in the house.
As quoted by Isaac Newton, ' every action has an equal and opposite reaction'. This action of yours is going to have a strong effect on your child. Chances are that your child may become angry, resilient and resort to different techniques to express that anger. Changes in attitude, being extra stubborn, throwing unnecessary tantrums, being emotional, being violent, refusal to eat until the gadget is given are few of the common traits and behavioral patterns that children resort to. But as a parent, you need to be courageous and not give in to the demands of the stubborn kids. With regular conditioning and spending quality time with your kids, you can have a positive effect on your kids.
Few important things that you can do to deal with gadget addicted kids:-
Spend more time with your kids. You might have to sacrifice few of your social commitments but it is going to help your child in the long run.
Kids look up to the parents for most of their problems. In case your child comes to you for any help, make them understand that you are here for them. Do not ignore their silly issues on the pretext that you do not have time.
In order to help them not indulge in gadgets, be the official storyteller. Use fictional characters or create a story on your own drawing valuable lessons in each of them.
You need your child to grow up at his own pace and not be too mature for their age. If you see this as a pattern developing in your kid, talk to them and encourage them to spend time with similar age group children.
Talk to your kids on everything. It is commonly observed that lack of communication between parents and children is one major push factor for children getting hooked on to gadgets. Hence talk to your kids so that you know what is going on in their life.
Help them become creative. Sometimes kids are addicted to gadgets because they have nothing better to do. In such a situation it is best to help you child indulge in some creative hobby. Be it arts and crafts class, learning how to play an instrument, swimming, dance lessons etc, it is always going to help in the overall development of your child.
In order for the kids to cut down on their gadget addiction, you need to do the same for yourself. Remember that the kids observe their parents closely and try to incorporate similar behavioral patterns.
Gadgets are devices that are here to help us. Make your child understand the same by showing him the usage of gadgets for educational purposes or creative uses. They need to learn that gadgets like phones, tablets and laptops are not only meant for playing games or watching cartoons. However principle of moderation can be applied here. The time for gadgets can be made limited and under supervision. Monitor your child's activity on these gadgets regularly so that you know what is it that they are watching. Parenting is no easy task but with these handy tips, it certainly can be made easy.
