Parenting in the times of the digital world is not easy. The advanced technology, the use of the internet, and several digital devices have added more pressure on the already challenging job of parenting. We have often seen parents purposely thrusting devices into their kid’s hands to keep them occupied and busy.
By doing this, they keep their kids engaged with their devices so that they cannot disturb them while they perform their tasks such as office work or house chores. However, the consequences of making your kids spend too much time on their screens can be hazardous for their mental and physical health.
On the other hand, we have also seen parents using parental controls, Android and iPhone monitoring tools to monitor their kids’ online activities. Monitoring their online activity is productivebut keeping them engaged with their devices all the time is not healthy.
Several studies and health experts have suggested time and again that too much screen time can be dangerous for kid’s wellbeing and can affect their mental and physical health. Excessive screen time can distract them from other important things and make them addicted to the internet and social media. In this post, we are going to stress the importance of cutting back your kid’s screen time.
The following are some effective methods that you can use to keep your kids spend less time on their screens without any hassle.
Become a Good Digital Role Model for Your Kids
Parents need to remember that kids have a habit of imitating their habits. Whatever parents do, kids will be most likely to copy them and do the same thing. You can set a good example for your kids and become good digital role models for them.
Before you begin starting your favourite TV show on Netflix, you need to remember that you will be setting an example for your kids with your own time spent in front of a screen, be it TV, laptop, or smartphone.
Scrolling through your social media newsfeed during dinner, keeping the TV on in the background while reading something, using your cell phone before going to bed may not be the things you would hope to see your kids doing. Therefore, if you expect your kids to avoid these things, you need to first avoid them yourself.
Educate Yourself on Technology and Devices
It is pretty much evident that kids of today’s generation have become tech-savvy. Most of them have more knowledge about technology and digital devices than adults do. They know more about the internet and social media use than their parents do.
To keep up with kids’ know-how about technology and electronics, parents need to stay up-to-date on the latest social media apps, games, and online trends. If you are aware of the latest social media apps and other online trends, you can teach your kids about how to use them and also guide them better.
You can’t teach them a thing about the dangers lurking on the internet and social media unless you can’t identify and understand them yourself. Similarly, you can’t prevent your kids from coming across online dangers such as cyberbullying, sexting, and online predators if you do not know anything about them. Hence, educating yourself on electronics and technology is way more important than you can imagine.
Set Up Technology-Free Zones
Another way to cut back on your kid’s screen time is to create zones in your house where nobody can use devices whether it is a cell phone, a gaming console, or a laptop. For example, you can establish a technology-free zone in your dining room and prevent anyone from using a device in that room during dinner. This area can be kept reserved for enjoying meals and healthy family conversations.
You can also set up a technology-free zone in your kid’s bedroom and do not allow them to use their cellphones and smartphones inside their rooms.
Make Use of Parental Controls
We have already talked about the use of parental controls at the beginning of this post. You can install parental controls on your kid’s device to reduce their screen time. There are some monitoring apps and parental control solutions that offer screen time management feature.
With the help of the best iPhone monitoring app, you can protect your kids from watching sexually explicit content on the internet. Most internet routers, TVs, smartphones, and internet browsers have built-in parental controls that you can enable to block or filter inappropriate content.
By using parental controls and monitoring apps, you can also filter or block inappropriate apps, sites, web searches, and even keywords on your kid’s digital devices.
Promote Other Healthy Habits
There are so many entertaining things available on the internet that can keep your kids glued to their screens all day long. They can simply rely on their digital devices for entertainment. However, you need to realize that your kids should not spend all of their time in front of their screens. Instead, they should be engaged in other activities.
You can promote other healthy habits among your kids by asking them to go out and play with their friends or read a book. You can also encourage them to play indoor games with you or their friends so that they can spend less time on their devices.
Turn Screen Time into a Privilege
Kids can become addicted to the use of electronics and the internet when they think screen time is a right for them. However, that should not be the case. Being a parent, it should be upon you to decide whether or not screen time should be their right. You need to make screen time a privilege and not a right. When kids know that screen time is a privilege, they need to work hard to get it.
You need to set some rules for your kids. For instance, if you catch your kid doing something wrong or if they are not obeying your commands, you need to take away the privilege (screen time) from them. Your kids will behave nicely and won’t spend extra time on their screens if they know it’s a privilege that can be taken away from them at any time.
By adopting the above-mentioned methods, you can effectively reduce your kid’s screen time and encourage them to engage in other healthy habits and activities.