Today’s children are growing in the high-tech world, and nobody cares for your child’s well-being and success as you as a parent do. It is the sole responsibility of parents to guide their children in today's digitally-driven age, both in the physical and virtual world.
Children of the digital generation get exposed to different forms of media, including TV, computers, tablets, laptop, smartphones by birth. Media and technology have greatly influenced how children feel, learn, think and behave.
As per the Pew Research Center,
⦁71% of parents under age of 12, expressed some concern about the amount of time their children spent using electronic devices.
⦁31% who are very concerned about this matter
⦁80% of parents of the child under the age of 5 to 11 say their child uses or interacts with a tablet computer,
⦁63% of parents say the same about smartphones.
⦁48 % of parents of children under the age of 5 say same for interacting tablet or computer,
⦁And 55% of parents of children under the age of 5 say the same about smartphones
Children have no clue what might be the consequence of bad screen time. Once they get their hands on a digital screen, they continue to watch them for the longest time possible. Parents need to teach and help their children form good and healthy media use habits in such a situation.
If you are among those parents who are constantly seeking to limit your child’s technology use, firstly, you need to be familiar with the digital parenting concept and follow the guidelines as mentioned below in the article.
Why limit technology use?
Overuse of technology and media can put your children or your teens at the risk of:
Obesity
Extreme use of technology, excessive screen time, or having a TV in a bedroom can increase the risk of obesity. Viewers often enjoy munching or snacking while watching screen media; as a result, they end up overeating junk foods, which ultimately affects their health.
Sleep problems
Excessive use of technology can interfere with sleep. Child or teen who spends more time on social media or who uses their phones at bedtime is most likely to suffer from the sleep deprivation problem, which affects them physically and can harm their mental health.
Negative effects on academic performance
Children or teens are most likely to use the internet and phones for entertainment purposes in the name of searching information for assignments. Some of the children watch TV or online videos even while studying or doing their homework. Such multitasking can greatly harm their academic performance.
Cyberbullying
Children are not mature enough to use the internet wisely. Everything that seems fascinating to them on the internet, children want to try it out when even thinking what consequences they might have to face and maybe end up being the victim of cyberbullying.
Problematic internet use
Children often overuse social media and technology, which can be at risk for problematic internet use. Children who overspend their time playing video games or are heavy video gamers are at the risk of internet gaming disorder. They like to spend their free time mostly online and show less interest in offline or real-life relationships.
How to limit a child's technology use?
Reduce your screen time to set an example of healthy use
The child picks up the things more quickly what they see more than they pay attention to what you are telling them to do. Parents usually check their phones every hour or surf the internet on their laptops for hours and hours, even if they are home after work.
Thus, it is important to remember that kids observe you when you use technology when kids are around. So, try to set a good media-free times example by turning off the electronic gadgets such as TV, phones, laptops and spending some quality time with family.
Implement password protocol
Most of the parents ignore password protocol. But you should not forget that it is the simplest and easiest method a parent can apply to limit a child’s technology usage. However, some parents tend to follow this method but end up putting passwords too simple their kids can easily guess that.
You must be aware while securing your electronic gadgets with passwords. Try to keep complex passwords, and do not ever share your passwords with your kids, even if they try to blackmail you emotionally. Remember that all the things that you are doing are only for your kid’s safety.
Aim for balance
There is no doubt that the world is becoming only more digitally-driven, and technology will stay forever and keep upgrading. Technology has a lot of good things to offer today’s generation of kids. It can empower kids of all ages with the comfort and facility it provides that help children learn in fun and engaging ways.
Keeping all these things and also the negative impact, maintain a balance between online activities and offline. You can follow the certain tips mentioned below:
⦁Give them the freedom to use or introduce them to technology but to some extend only.
⦁Make a routine that covers both screen time and playing time (outdoor games) with friends.
⦁And if possible, try to be around your kids when they are using social media and technology.
Use parental control
Another simplest yet effective way to limit your child’s technology use is by using parental control software. These tools help you keep your child from being exposed to and accessing explicit content online. Most of the parental control applications such as bark.us, Net Nanny, easily available in the market, provides a feature to set a filter or block unwanted content.
Not only this, but you can also enjoy other features such as-
⦁Setting screen time limits to your kid’s devices,
⦁Monitor and control their online activities,
⦁Track their location
⦁View their browser history.
Thus, it would be best to get your hands on some parental control, especially if you are working parents and looking for a good and practical method to limit your kid’s technology use.
Keep yourself updated on new technology
Today’s generation of kids is tech-savvy. There is no objection that kids know more about new technology and electronics than adults do. Thus parents need to show some effort to keep themselves updated about new apps, online games, technology, social media platforms, and trends.
If you are confused about why you should educate yourself on technology, then it’s because you cannot teach your child or teens about the risks of using a new technology until and unless you understand the danger yourself. And also, it would be easy for you to explain why they need to limit their technology use.
Create technology-free zones
Establish a zone in your home where using any sort of electronic gadgets are strictly prohibited whether it’s phones, tablets or handheld video games whenever all family member are dining together or having a family conversation or in the kids’ study room. Make all the family members, including your kids, follow them.
Protect bedtime
Surfing the internet or using digital media at night can interfere with sleeping patterns. The child continues to play with the electronics, whether it’s a phone or video games, at least for hours and hours. Sometimes there can also be the case where they play games the whole night and feel less energetic and have a severe headache during day time. Thus it becomes very important for you as a parent to protect the bedtime. For this:
⦁Ask your child to avoid screen time for at least one hour before bedtime.
⦁Make sure your child does not sleep with electronic gadgets such as phones.
Encourage other activities
Every time being on the phones or laptops, playing online games, or only chatting with virtual friends online make your kids lazy and dull. They show no interest in socializing with real friends or meeting new people.
And if you are parenting such kids, then it’s time to change your kid’s habits and turn their screen time to healthy social time. Encourage your child to involve in other activities that require no screen facing, such as:
⦁Playing outdoors games
⦁Reading books
⦁Helping parents in the kitchen
⦁Going for a short family walk together
Final thoughts
Technology changes way fast and keeps upgrading every year. And the love for technology among kids/children and teens is insane. For parents, it becomes very difficult to keep their children away from using technology. However, technology has lots of good and positive aspects to offer you and your kids.
However, some hesitation regarding technology use can be seen among many parents. They worry about their kids being exposed to inappropriate content online or spend more time online than playing outdoor games with friends. Not only this, but it also becomes hard for parents to keep an eye on whenever their child is using technology.
Thus, to overcome such problems, you can simply implement the guidelines mentioned above practically in your life that somewhat helps you limit your child’s technology use.
Note: There is no specific rule out there where you can simply use it to limit your child’s technology use in a day. At last, it’s all about discipline and understanding between parents and children.
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