Those annoying pings, mobile vibrations, and text messages are all triggers that gradually form a habit of looking at phones frequently.No wonder if it happens excessively it will cause technology addiction in kids. Are your kids addicted to their devices?
Devices are kids’ best buddies in this tech-centric era. Millions of addictive apps, various exciting games, and captivating social media platforms are competing hard to grab our child’s attention.
But increasing screen time, internet addiction and unguarded digital exposure can threaten a kid’s overall health and development. Let’s see how parents can treat digital addiction in youth.
Use Parental Control Apps
Across the globe, parents are using the Bit Guardian Parental Control app as the digital guardian of kid’s screen time control.
This app is a fantastic solution to manage screen time in a kid’s device. A parent can use the App Time Limit feature to put an end to kid’s excessive screen time.
With a Time Schedule parents can set a time limit for various categories of apps such as social media, games, etc.
Discard your teen’s late-night app usage habit with the Bed Time feature. Manage your kid’s screen time and let him enjoy sound-adequate sleep.
Use App Block and App Install Block to put an end to kid’s app obsessions. Let your kid use child-friendly apps only and restrict the access to download any new addictive app from the Google Play Store.
How about treating your kid’s internet addiction by creating a bespoke home screen on their device?use Kiosk Mode and allow only a handful of apps.
A patent can use other features such as Anti-Theft, SOS and Emergency, Geo-fencing and Speed Limit, to give their children safe digital navigation.
Engaging Their Real-life
One of the easiest and fun ways to relax a kid’s internet addiction is to engage his real-life with his favorite activities.
Let him join his favorite hobby classes, promote ground-based sports activities, encourage him to join weekend outings with his friends. These activities will fulfil his life with more happening enjoyments and he will no longer crave for virtual validations.
What other go-to solution parents can bring is- letting kids share everyday household chores. Alter their ‘after-school free hours’ with household responsibilities. It will replace excessive device usage and make your kids independent at an early age.
Establish Device-Free Zones
Digital addiction in youth can be treated by limiting their device usages at home. Let your child understand the value of family time.
Establish a few areas of your house as device-free zones. These areas can be a dining hall, kitchen or drawing-room. Do you get irritated when at the dinner table you need to frequently shout to finish the meal to your kid? Restrict using a cellphone while eating and educate your kids to value the food and quality lifestyle.
Be Your Kid’s Role Model
Do you binge-watch various videos on youtube for hours? Do you use the device just to make a phone call and end up wasting hours on careless surfing?
Surprisingly, your kids may not listen to you, but certainly, they are watching you! Kids reflect their parent’s behavior. So if you want your kids to be responsible and use devices in control, you should follow that too!
Be your kid’s role model so he can copy your actions. Cultivate good habits in you so your kids follow the best.
Form Healthy Habits
Anything which comes with the extreme amount is harmful. So kids screen time when it gets extended automatically starts harming their quality of life.
Inculcate a few restorative habits in kids that can calm his screen time.
- The primary reason the phone becomes addictive is that it stays with you all the time. Instruct your kids to leave their phone in another room while they are studying or doing other activities.
- To reduce family internet life, you should celebrate device-free days. Enjoy weekends without any gadgets.
- Set a family gadget protocol.Reward perks for every digital cut-downs and charge penalty points for breaking your set limits.
- Apps and games come in attractive colors and designs. These act as visual invites and lure our kids to use it more. If needed,select the Gray scale option and turn your kids’ screen black-and-white. This is how you can manage screen time by making the screen visually less attractive.
Prevention Is Better Than Cure
Awareness is the key to discipline. To save your children from technology addiction you should talk to them about the harmful impacts of such obsession.
Also, educate them about the sedentary lifestyle internet addiction brings. They should know this habit can cause poor vision, improper posture,insomnia, and in extreme cases, it also hampers their overall growth and development.
Additionally, transparent communication about the increasing cybercrime ratio will also be helpful. Let your kids know that every extra hour they spend on the Internet may invite many digital dangers.
Once, your children know the adverse effects of this habit , using the device will become their informed choice. They will use digital platforms responsibly.
Let’s Wind-Up
Digital addiction in youth is a global issue these days. Every parent is struggling with a kid’s obsession with the screen. On one hand technologies are blessing us with infinite benefits and on the other side, a new generation is raising with many mental and emotional crises due to isolated virtual world experiences.
Gift your child a balanced life with the benefits of real-life and virtual life. Be a wise parent and use the parental control app to calm down your kid’s technology addiction.
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