How to draw boundaries on the exposure of technology for your kid? Well lets see in this post.
Gone are the days, when kids jumped with joy on a visit to a garden because they would rather spend time in their play stations and game rooms than tiring and dirtying themselves.
Gone are the days, when mothers sang lullaby, because they would rather switch on their Ipads to breaking their throats off.
Gone are the days, when fathers played with the kids, because they would rather buy expensive toys and are happier being the couch potatoes.
Of all the times and age, today we as parents often debate and wrestle on the exposure of technology to our little ones. My two year old Jianna knows to operate a smart phone, laptop etc, maybe better than many of us considering her age and exposure.
The generation being produced now is like they know almost everything. Their instinct is bang on!
It was the first Sunday of Lent season (40 days of prayer, fasting and sacrifice before Easter). A priest from our parish visited us to bless our home and joined us for lunch as well. He narrated an incident about how a very well-to-do, high profile family had got into a pathetic situation wherein their 15-year old boy had threatened to harm himself if he was not given an Iphone. He had not attended school for a month and was hardly bothered about his education being affected.
Now this is the extent of how technology driven the kids of current times are. It will keep increasing by leaps and bounds in a world which is moving digitally so rapid.
4 Ways to draw boundaries on the exposure of technology for your kid:
In my post I present to you the few concerns of technology and how every parent should know to draw boundaries.
- Screen time:
Colorful cartoons, what fun to watch them all through the day!! It is also a wonderful means to learn language and proper communication devoid of slangs. Mind you, they can be really addictive and it gets very difficult to abstain your kids off the idiot box.
What we can do is to keep a check most importantly on the quality of the content and secondly on the time spent per day. Let the little ones know “eyes are precious” by illustrating with cute little stories or anecdotes, distract them to talks and ask questions before they start throwing tantrums.
I am certain, we parents have all mastered the act of story-telling, haven’t we?
- Play-stations, Game-rooms and Video games:
Instead of spending money on expensive kiddy gadgets, why not take our children to open gardens, play grounds and zoos? Let them know about our eco-system.
Make them appreciate and participate in the marvels of nature. Set aside a family day for such outings. Run and play with them, organize little picnic or tea parties with the neighborhood children. Swing, jump and climb – there are Godzilla things to do.
We all have hectic schedules and hardly exchange words post returning from work. Time spent with kids revitalizes us and boosts up our energy levels too.
- Mobile phones and Ipads:
Most of us being in a nuclear family, away from grandparents and loved ones mobile phones are the only gadgets which come to rescue. And yes of course, they have been such a blessing to all of us. No matter in which little corner of the world you are, at least you can stay connected and update them your status.
WHO (World Health Organization) has declared cell phone radiation to be possibly carcinogenic. Since our little ones skulls’are soft and constantly developing it is best for us to refrain giving them phones as much as possible.
- Internet and Social-media:
Internet! Oh my good God, I can’t even think a day without it because I myself get so handicapped. Google is my ultimate guru. So is the case, with the present day kids.
Cute, it may sound but there are parents who start their baby’s Facebook account as soon as their born – recording and posting every milestone. It is almost like an open diary.
Let us take the initiative to make our kids stay away from virtual networking at least till they enter teens. Nothing can replace personalized, face-to-face interactions and socializing, which is nearly getting extinct in today’s world at large.
Make them write letters and greeting cards for their near and dear. The challenge is to make our children physically and mentally active. Not only their imaginative plays but also their emotional bonding with others must be made strong.
I am not at all an anti-technology mommy. In fact, I am one of those mommies who uses all of the above listed gadgets and applications to baby-sit daughter as I don’t find any other safer option.
But monitoring on the amount of their exposure, instilling human quotient and shaping them should be our priority.
Many of us think that our kids should not be left behind in the rat race of being technologically sound. Believe me parents, our children will catch up to the current phase of the world.
Well, we all know the facts for sure. It just needs little flaming reminders in between. What say? (Winks…winks)
Share your ideas and views on the same. Till then, Happy Bonding.