That our children are digital natives does not condemn them to a life of mobile addiction. It is in us to manage their use to prevent them from being abducted by the screen. But as in everything that concerns the education of children, the main thing is the example we give them, that's why if you want to prevent your children from being addicted to mobile, educate them by example.
Whatever your children see you do, they will do it. If you are hooked to the mobile all day, they will see it as something natural, and obviously, they will imitate it. Then you cannot demand that you release your mobile, when you cannot live without it yourself. It is inconsistent and you are setting a bad example.
Parents are to blame for the addiction of their children
Parents are to blame for the children to "plug in" the devices and disconnect from the world. By not giving them the attention they deserve, we push our children to end up hooked to mobiles and tablets, and by not regulating their use, to also become addicted to them. But if you are also unable to regulate your own use, we are lost.
If you ask your child, I would surely prefer to play with you all afternoon to get hooked on the mobile. But as this is rarely possible and on the mobile there are so many interesting things to see, they end a good part of the afternoon, or all, because they are also not aware of the time they spend there. It is here, again, where parents must intervene.
Why do children become addicted to mobile? As with television, despite knowing the risks of spending too many hours in front of the screen, children become addicted basically for three reasons. Because: 1) parents are very good at being quiet and calm, 2) because parents do not control their use and 3) because parents are addicted. Back to the same, The fault is always with the parents.
Get your first
New technologies are not the devil, much less. On the contrary, our children are fortunate to have been born in this technological age. Moreover, I think it is imperative that children approach new technologies since they are young. But all in its fair measure, since an overexposure to the digital world can affect its social and emotional growth.
To avoid the addiction of your children, you must cut for the healthy and disengage yourself before. You must act in time to prevent your child from being swallowed by the digital world.
There are parents perpetually hooked to the mobile, who are always checking the mail, pending chats or solving something "urgent", even when they are with their children. Have you ever realized how much time you spend with the phone and without your children? You may not want to do it.
More attention to the mobile than to the children
Dr. Jenny S. Radesky, a pediatrician at the Boston Medical Center, observed with two colleagues 55 groups of parents and children in a fast-food restaurant. They found that 40 of the adults immediately took out their cell phones and used them for most of the meal.
This can be seen by any of us often in restaurants, playgrounds, on the street ... And if they do it outside, at home too, or more. More attention is paid to devices than to children.
Our children feel ignored, that we don't care, and deeply affects our communication with them. A very important interaction is lost in the years in which we are essential for them. It is something that will take its toll at some point if we do nothing about it.
You don't want your children to always remember you hooked on your mobile, right? Take steps to self-control your own use when you are with them. Get rid of your cell phone and connect to your children. For the sake of your children, make reasonable and non-obsessive use of the mobile.
Tips to disconnect from your mobile
If you have it at hand, you use it. So as is done in some restaurants, leaving your mobile phone in a basket or at a table when entering home can be a good option.
Do not use your mobile when you go out with your children.
Silence notifications when you are with them, so you avoid the temptation to take it.
Put on schedules to use it: look for times when you are not with your children.
Via | The New York Times
Photos | iStockphoto
In Babies and more | How much time do you spend with the phone and without your children ?, How to manage the use of the mobile so that our children are not abducted by the screen
