Kids spend all day on their phones and don’t even want to eat without cartoons or games. Attempts to pick up a smartphone or tablet result in screams and tears. Every day is full of jitters and whims from which there is no escaping. Is it known? Don’t worry, while gadget addiction is real, it’s not always dangerous. In this article we will analyze how dangerous this addition can be for children, how and whether it is worth it Checking the time on the phoneas well as where the parental control zone to be held.
Children’s addiction to mobile devices is a global problem
The experts of the American Academy of Pediatrics, with the help of special studies, found that in most cases a child spends almost 7 hours a day playing games or watching videos on his smartphone. English scientists also spoke about this with British parents. It turns out that over 60% of parents are very worried about their child spending a lot of time on their phone. Almost half of these children communicate via Messenger, even if their parents or the other person they are talking to is in the next room.
Although this issue has not been studied in this way in our country, the situation here is no better. And now the experiences like “where is my child‘ were also supplemented by concerns about who the child is communicating with on the web and whether there is an add-on to the devices.
Why are gadgets dangerous for children?
Someone can tell if you know where the child is By giving him or her a smartphone or tablet, one can be sure that he or she will not get into trouble, will not get into an argument and so on. However, the fact is that the constant use of mobile devices also comes with dire consequences. When communicating on this topic, many pediatricians recommend reducing the time spent on gadgets to a minimum. And when this isn’t done, the children can develop depression, developmental delays compared to their peers, insomnia, and even trouble socializing with the other children. In addition, due to low mobility, the child can become obese.
This problem is perfectly revealed in the experiment by researchers at the University of Virginia. For this, the scientists selected 60 four-year-old children and divided them into 3 groups. The first 20 watched cartoons, the other 20 children watched educational TV shows, and the rest simply drew without additional auxiliary backgrounds. As a result, the children who watched only cartoons after 9 minutes scored lower on the standard intellectual ability test than children who watched television programs, and lagged far behind those who only drew.
Unfortunately, in addition to the development deficit, there is another problem that is just as serious. The high dependence of children on their devices can be exploited by various attackers. It can be cyberbullying, various types of scams and extortion, harassment or even sexual violence or suicide games that can lead to tragic consequences. Of course, law enforcement is already doing this, but parents shouldn’t stand by. And first of all, all parents should know “What my children do”, especially online, and make their activities as safe as possible.
What is Screen Time?
There’s something like “screen time” or “time spent on the phone” in the world today. This term means how much time a person spends behind the display of their own device. Modern technology is now able to read not only the session time, but also which programs were used. This makes it possible to understand when and what the kids used to do.But it should be clear that if a kid spent the same 7 hours on the computer: 5 hours studying, 1.5 hours watching a movie and 0.5 hours playing chess, then that is This is quite normal behavior. It would be another matter if the child spent all those 7 hours watching videos on TikTok or playing games. But at the same time, if you eat in a car or train for a long time and the same, it’s not scary Turn on cartoons for the child, the main thing is that it does not happen again from day to day.
How can we reduce children’s addiction to gadgets without losing their confidence at the same time?
We all perfectly understand how gadgets have become an integral part of our lives for us. And it is foolish to expect that this is not the case with children. The only exception are children under the age of two. For them, the gadget is not a necessity, but rather contraindicated, which child psychologists have proved more than once. Nothing good can be achieved with the same phones with cartoons for two-year-olds. This is the age when you need to maximize your child’s development.
For children from 2 to 5 years old, it is already possible to use the gadget for about an hour a day, but at the same time not make it a tradition and in the order of things. Walks, playing in the fresh air and dealing with other children are also very important for the future of the children.
The greatest difficulties can arise in school-age children, since they are the most vulnerable to criticism from their classmates and other teenagers. For example, we can take the stories of each of us when other children had things that we didn’t have ourselves (fashion jeans, pencil cases, handbags, etc.). At this age, the main thing is not to overdo it with strictness and prohibitions. Failure to do so can lead to trust issues, and the child is more likely to turn to strangers for advice or help than to parents. You can set rules with the child so that, for example, they are only allowed to play their favorite games once their homework is done. This gives the children additional motivation to solve tasks quickly. At the same time, you can gently prohibit the use of a phone or tablet while eating.
You can also create such rules for other everyday situations (schools, guests, etc.), but you must enter them very carefully and thoughtfully. Above all, remember that the child has rights, just like you, and very strict rules lead to lying and deliberate disobedience to the parents. It is always very important to find a compromise that suits everyone.
Parental controls for children on the Internet as a way out of difficult situations
Relationships between parents and teenagers are often very strained, and taking away a child’s cell phone can only make things worse. Instead it is better to use family monitoring on the child’s gadget, which allows you to monitor the situation and intervene if necessary.
Another way to protect children from troubles is to install special programs for parental controls. They can be used for setup family access and disable access to unwanted websites. In addition, you can see and discuss something suspicious with your children, talk about possible consequences, etc., but always in a calm tone so as not to frighten the child. Otherwise, he or she might “shrink in on itself” later on.
No need to hide parental control from kids!
We recommend doing everything openly in front of the kids so they don’t think their parents distrust them. Everything should be based on mutual trust. This is not only recommended by us, but also by many of the world’s leading child psychologists and pediatricians. You can discuss all of this at one of the family dinners, for example. Tell the children why this should be done, what are the main features of the installed program, how it works and more. It is important to instill in children the idea that what is being done is not for the purpose of total control over them, but for their safety and nurturing.
It is necessary to tell the children that you trust them completely, but there are situations in life that they cannot handle themselves and children can always count on you, not only as a parent but also as a best friend . For example, you can say that it is difficult for a child to spot a scammer or a person with ill intentions due to their lack of relevant experience. At the same time, you can see how installing such an application will help to cope with these dangers.
The Parental Control Kroha app: The child is monitored and safe
Parental Control Kroha mobile app is a program for parental control over children’s actions on their devices. This application provides protection and safety for children in the following areas:
- you always know Where the child is: GPS monitoring is provided by the built-in GPS tracker, which tracks the child’s location with an accuracy of up to a few meters and transmits this information to your smartphone. So you can let the child go for a walk with friends, on a field trip or other school activities without worrying.
- block content and installed applications: by running children’s fashion On the child’s phone, you can control access to all applications and disable access to them if necessary. You can also block all unwanted internet portals and web services.
- Time Control: This application allows you to control how much time the child spends on the gadget screen and which applications are used.
- Privacy Shield & Night Mode: These features allow you to adjust the screen’s safe distance from the child’s eyes and the screen’s backlight mode to protect the child’s vision in the dark. This reduces the risk of myopia.
- By controlling calls, SMS, correspondence in messengers, contacts and photos, parents can understand with whom and about what the child is communicating and avoid contact with unwanted people.
So, with the Parental Control Kroha mobile application, you can take even better care of your children without violating their privacy. The application is available on the website https://parental-control.netwhere you can learn more details about all its features.
