Table of contents:
- The bad impact of children addicted to gadgets
- Tips to stop children from being addicted to gadgets
- 1. Be a good example
- 2. Limit the use of gadgets
- 3. Increase activities outside or inside the house
- 4. Be assertive
- 5. Ask a doctor for help
Gadgets are a powerful weapon for parents to make children calm and feel at home at the same time. Unfortunately, too often playing these sophisticated tools can cause children to become addicted to gadgets. Gadget addiction shouldn't be taken lightly! The reason is, this habit will have a negative impact on his health in the long run. If your child is addicted, parents must work hard to stop it. Check out the following tips.
The bad impact of children addicted to gadgets
You certainly realize that playing gadgets can take hours. In fact, you can spend the whole day fiddling with gadgets during the holidays. This of course makes you unproductive, right? It's not just you, kids feel the same way.
Letting children play gadgets without rules can make children addicted. Various games and interesting things on gadgets can keep you addicted to play them. Children who are addicted to gadgets tend to withdraw from the environment and are more busy with their gadgets. When you ask them to stop playing their gadgets, they will refuse, get angry, and throw tantrums.
You need to know that gadget addiction in children will have a negative impact on their health. When playing gadgets, children will not care about visibility, body posture, and light settings. This can reduce eye health, cause pain in the body, and even make children inactive.
Children are supposed to be actively moving, exploring the environment, interacting with friends of the same age, but instead are busy with gadgets. If it continues, the child's ability to socialize can be affected. So, gadget addiction can affect the physical and mental health of children.
Tips to stop children from being addicted to gadgets
Overcoming gadget addiction means saving the child's quality of life in the future. So even though it is difficult, you must be patient in dealing with it.
Catherine Steiner Adair, a researcher at Harvard Medical School and author of the book The Big Disconnect: Protecing Childhood and Family Relationship in The Digital Age explains the key to overcoming gadget addiction in children.
"Children learn from playing, especially preschoolers and early childhood children. To overcome this condition, make sure children spend more time playing and learning directly, not from screens," said Adair, quoted from the Telegraph.
Don't worry, to overcome a child addicted to gadgets, you can follow the following methods.
1. Be a good example
Children learn from their surroundings. If you are seen playing gadgets a lot, your children will definitely follow your habit. If you want to reduce your gadget playing time, then you are also able to manage your time to use your gadget wisely.
Do not let you forbid your children to play gadgets, but you still stick to your own gadgets. Your ban will certainly not bear fruit.
2. Limit the use of gadgets
Reorganizing the time children play gadgets can help you to limit the use of gadgets by children. Then, don't put the gadget carelessly, children can pick it up and play it easily. Make sure the child's bedroom area is also free of gadgets.
3. Increase activities outside or inside the house
Increasing children's activities at home or outside the home can grab children's attention and forget about gadgets. You can invite children to jog or bike on holidays, invite children to cook together, or visit relatives' houses. Do any activity that makes children active again.
4. Be assertive
Gadget addiction that makes children tantrums is indeed difficult to deal with. Remember, you must remain strict to apply the rules you just created to limit the time you play gadgets. Do not let you feel sorry for the whining of children who want to continue playing gadgets.
Children need time to be separated from gadgets, so reducing the time to play gadgets in children shouldn't be sudden but do it slowly.
5. Ask a doctor for help
If the steps above do not provide maximum effect. It could be that the child will actually be depressed and anxious. That means, you have to consult a doctor. The doctor will provide the best way to help you calm your little one and reduce his addiction.
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