We are living in a digital world. There is no way that we can stop our kids from using digital devices. It has become the basic necessity and people of every age are dependent on them. To throw more light on this fact, have a look at the following stats:
- More than 53% of the kids have their own tablets.
- 24% of the kids have their own smartphone.
- 67% teenagers have their own smartphone.
There is no doubt that parents are doing their best to help their kids in developing healthy habits regarding the use of technology. According to a survey by the American Psychological Association, 94% of parents try tamanagie their child’s technology during their school year. Furthermore, 48% are continuously struggling to regulate their child’s screen time. 58% of the parents are worried about the influence of social media on their child’s mental and physical health.
Keeping the constant struggle of parents, the American Academy of Pediatrics has provided some recommendation that will be helpful for the parents:
- For a child between 18 months to 24 months, parents should select high-quality programming and they should watch those programs with their children.
- Children who are under 28 months should avoid using the screen-based media excluding the video chatting.
- Children between the age group of 2 to 5 should use their devices only for one hour per day.
- For children of age 6 or more, there should be a time limit for using media.
Helpful Pointers For Parents
If you are concerned about the healthy use of technology by your kids as a parent, then the following pointers will help you out:
1-Teach Your Child from Young Age
Guidance is the best thing that parents can provide to their children. It has been said that children adapt to the things happening around them. It is important for parents to teach their kids about the use of devices for a limited time period. Tell them that this is not a toy. It should be used for entertainment and learning but for a specific period.
If your children are watching content or using social media platforms, there is no need to scare them instead teach them how to use the things in an effective way. Tell them about the significance of privacy and protection of personal information.
2-Stay Calm-Don’t Overreact
Admit it! Technology is an important part of our life and you can’t run away from this fact. There is no point to force your child to don’t use the devices. No need to overreact if your children are using the devices. As a parent, you should guide them in the right way and teach them some healthy habits for using the technology. Let them use their devices for learning purposes and for a little entertainment.
3-Set Up A Screen Time
It is important that your child should have limited screen time. But parents should not think that technology is harmful to their kids. With proper balance, you can keep things aligned. Set a time for your kids and he or she should follow that schedule. But keep a few things in mind that doing a video chat with friends or grandparents is different from playing video games. If they are doing school homework on their device, then that time should not be included in their screen time. Set up rules that are easy to follow instead of forcing your kids that will annoy them.
4-Protect Their Bedtime
According to studies, using digital devices before sleeping can disturb your sleeping cycles. The same goes for the kids. If your child is using the devices during bedtime, then this is good for their health. It is important for parents to take away their devices 30 minutes before they are going to sleep. It is important for your child to get a good sleep. For this, you need to ensure that they don’t use a device once the light of a room is turned off.
5-Digital Decision Making
The Internet is a place with no barrier. Your child can be exposed to various threats without knowing about them. It is important for your kids to understand how they can identify that certain information is authentic or not. Tell them about the sources they should check out to get reliable information. Explain to them that they should not share their information online, don’t click on the suspicious links, and don’t reply to messages from strangers.
6-Pay Proper Attention
When your kids are young, it is easy to monitor their activities online. But when they get old, it’s not easy to monitor things. The best way to keep things in check is to have a good conversation with your kids. You should ask them what apps they are using or what type of content they are watching online. You should also see that content to ensure that it is not harmful for your child.
7-Develop Real-Life Friendships
Today, everyone is connected online but real-life friendships can’t be replaced with digital friendship. Your child might play online games with their friends but you should encourage them to go and play with their real-life friends. It is important for your child to learn social skills for developing better relationships.
8-Tell Them About Good Online Behavior
The online world has so many things that can’t be explained. According to an estimate, 87% of the children witness cyberbullying online. Keeping this number in mind, parents should talk to their kids and tell them about cyberbullying. Parents should tell their kids that if they face any problem, they should directly come and inform them.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, now parents can understand how they can promote the healthy use of technology among their children. It is essential for parents to guide their kids in the right direction and monitor their online activities to keep them safe from online threats.
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