Electronic gadgets are an essential part of today’s modern world. Everyone needs an electronic device to function every day. They are necessary for nearly everything nowadays from educational purposes to entertainment. Having a smartphone will also mean that they will inevitably have social media since that is a major part of today’s pop culture. Nearly every kid has a personal smartphone which they need. But they do not have the maturity to handle themselves on social media so keeping a close eye on your children’s gadgets is important.
These electronics cause a lot of physical problems as well like eye problems, back and neck ache, lack of interest in the real world, sleeping issues, and many more. Having a few ground rules that you and your child have mutually agreed on is the way to go. Fighting with them about harsh rules will just make them rebel and they would not want to be honest with you. Your children’s safety is the main goal for you and here are some ways you can ensure that.
1. Maintain Your Ground
Being too strict will not make your children properly listen to you but once you have decided on a particular set of rules, you have to make sure that they are being followed. No matter how much they fight against it every day, with time they will have to agree with it. This can only happen if you are being strict about it and not giving in to their demands. Once you start doing that, they are bound to take advantage of it. Try to make them feel like they have a say in this, while making rules, involve them in the decision-making process. They will not have any rebellious excuses when these self-made rules are being imposed on them.
2. Time Limit
Having a proper time limit on the electronic uses of children is very important. Make sure that they get enough time on the devices to properly complete their educational necessities as well as some entertainment. But they should not be glued to their devices the whole day. A properly set time limit ensures that they are on their gadgets for a suitable amount of time without harming them. There should be breaks in between gadget use and they have to make sure that their work is completed within the allotted time limit. Even if it’s not, stand your ground and take the device away when the time is over, and this behavior will not be repeated again. Give them a sense of choice here as well, set a proper time limit that both you and your child agree with. After a while, this will become routine and will be imbibed into your child even when they grow up.
3. Healthy Lifestyle
Introducing some proper lifestyle habits and changes will ensure that all your rules around gadget use are being followed. If they cannot be entertained from a gadget, they will look for activities to pass that time. Introducing your children to some extracurricular activities that they enjoy would be the best way to go about it. It might be a trial-and-error process in the beginning but eventually, your child is bound to find something that they like. At first, when they are not liking anything, take them to the park and let them play around there, or get them into cycling or similar exercises. These might not be much but they go a long way when it comes to having a healthy lifestyle. Once they get to do something they enjoy, they will not miss their devices anymore.
4. Monitoring and Supervision
As a parent, supervision is extremely necessary when your child is using a gadget. Set proper passwords in the gadgets which only you know of so they cannot misuse the device whenever they want to. A very good way of preventing any malicious activity, you can install child protection software. These types of software are installed in a device to check all the different kinds of activities in the targeted device. You would get to know their passwords, their location through GPS, etc.
You should choose a software that provides overall protection like the ESET multi-device internet security which is an antivirus software that has parental control and web control features along with overall virus protection. Try to keep a healthy check on what social media they are using and who they are talking to. Do not, however, invade their privacy. If you notice something suspicious, try to have a conversation with your children about it. You just want to make sure that they are being safe in whatever they are doing and not using these gadgets to consume content that is not appropriate for them.
5. Proper Education
Making your children aware of all the dangers of social media and strangers on these platforms is a good way to make them be careful of their actions. Properly explaining why being extremely careful on the internet is necessary and what can happen if you are not is the best way to make them aware of their actions. These cannot be done in an aggressive manner. You have to sit down and calmly explain to them why you as a parent are so worried about your child’s safety. You have to remember that they care about you just as much as well and once they understand your point of view, they are going to be just as careful as you want them to be. Let them know the rights and wrongs of the internet and electronic devices once they are mature enough and they are bound to follow what is being asked of them.
6. Lead By Example
If you want your children to follow a certain rule, you have to make sure that you as a parent do too. You cannot ask them to give up their devices for the day and then continue to be on your phone for other things that are emergencies regarding work. Once they see you doing something, children tend to imitate that behavior, even if it is good or bad. If you make sure that you are being careful about using your devices in front of them, they will too. They will also not have any ground to challenge you on when you have to reinforce rules.
7. Avoid Using Electronics As A Pacifier
It is quite easy for parents to just give their children an electronic device when they are looking for entertainment but it develops a very bad habit. It is understandable that you are quite busy but try to spend time with them instead of just letting them be on their own with their gadgets to keep them busy and occupied while you are doing your work. Introduce some other activity but try not to do it with any electronic gadget.
These are a few ways in which you can properly keep your children safe in this modern world of vast technology.
