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28 Sep

Strategies to Cope With Screen-Obsessed Kids

 

person playing PUBG mobile

Have you ever worried about your child’s screen time? Oh! Yes, you might have. Since this is the new norm of the modern era. Most of the time we worry because we compare their childhood with ours. We think that when we were small we didn’t have so much screen time, but our kids are always with screen. We know that screens are not good for our child’s mental and physical health, but it is very hard to take back the device or gadgets from our small ones.

 

Why or how do kids become obsessed with the screen?

 

One child norm

In today’s modern era when most of us have only one child, we don’t have anybody else to play with our kids. Gadgets can help our kids to be engaged, and this is the reason why we hand over gadgets to them.

Nuclear family

Earlier days we used to have a joint family where everybody used to stay together. Nowadays, due to technological advancement, people are settling in big cities to earn their livelihood. This has taken us far from our native and our near and dear ones. Our child is left alone due to all these reasons and gadgets come as a solution for all problems.

Working Parents

When both parents are working, they don’t have much time to spend with their kids. Gadgets are something which can keep the child engaged and at the same time parents can also do their work.

These are the reasons why we ourselves handover gadgets to our kids, and we get worried too when they are obsessed with it.

 

Screen time impacts our kids

 

Emotional imbalance

Kids are too much with screens means they are not in the real world. They don’t understand the real world, hence they tend to become emotional on every petty matter.

Physical fitness

Physical growth is hampered as they are not indulged in physical activities. Being in front of a screen means sit in a place all the time, and these kids are not interested in any kind of physical activities.

Loss of focus and concentration

These children are not able to concentrate in studies and also cannot sit in a place for a long time if they don’t have any gadgets in their hands. Games which require them to be focussed are not interesting games for them, and they try to avoid such games.

Social development

Socially, such kids are weak as they are not able to make many friends and also don’t know how to behave with others.

 

Strategies to help our kids reduce screen time

 

Take them for outings

Outings are the things which refreshes us. Take them for an outing, explain the beauty of nature to them and spend some time with them. Talk to them about different things, tell them stories about your childhood etc.
Try to do some activities with them which might help them to learn as well as keep them interested in doing things. Indulge them in making tents or collecting woods for making fire, take them for fishing, and there are many more activities which could be done.

Interaction with other kids.

Nowadays, daycares are very good as they keep small kids with them for the whole day and indulge them in many fun activities like drawing, crafting etc. This is the place where our kids cannot reach out to any kind of gadgets; hence, they would indulge themselves with other kids and have fun with them. Always check the goodwill and security of the daycare before keeping your child there.
It is always said kids are happy with kids. So when they find kids of their own age, they definitely get involved and interested.

Engage them in household chores

It is good to engage them in household chores since it helps them to learn how to keep their room clean and also some other small tasks. I ask my kid to keep his books and toys in the proper place. When he does it, he asks many questions to understand why he should do such work or why the books and toys need to be in their proper place.

Gift a pet to them

Kids who don’t have any sibling are really alone as parents cannot be with them all the time. When there is a pet at home, the first thing which they think about is not gadgets but pets. Let them be engaged with the pet and do all its work. This can keep them away from gadgets, and at the same time they will learn to take care of their pets.

It is not easy to cut down screen time totally at a go, and it is not fair too. Try to reduce it slowly and gradually so that they do not feel uncomfortable when they are not with screens.

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