Many adults spend more time looking at their devices than they’d like to. But at least they can remember a time when we weren’t all looking at our smartphones all day. As such, most of us have a sense when we’re been staring at a screen too long, and take steps to, well, do anything else. But younger people, such as your children, don’t have that baseline. They’ll have grown up with devices. As such, they’re at a higher risk of addiction, since they have no comparison.
If you’re worried about your children becoming hooked on tech, then fear not, there are plenty of things you can do to help them stay in control, such as the tips we’ve outlined below.
Conscious Tech Use
Your kids will need to use technology from time to time. In fact, they should use tech, since it’s a tool that’ll help them to be the best version of themselves. That’s a “good” use of tech. So what’s a “bad” use of tech? We’d argue that it’s passive, nonconscious technology use. If your kids are just picking up their devices as soon as they’re not doing something else, then they’ll be on the path towards addiction. So encourage conscious use. Also, remember that your own use will influence your kids, too. If you’re always staring at your phone, then they will too.
Family Days Out
You can’t blame your children for looking at their devices all the time if they’re stuck in the house all the time. There’s only so much playtime they can have! On weekends, look at taking family days out to nature areas. You’ll find that your children — and you — barely get their devices out of their pockets, other than to take photos. Spending time in nature will show your kids that there’s a whole other, non-tech world out there.
Non-Tech Hobbies
Kids want to be doing something. They’re not content just sitting down and looking into space, not for more than ten minutes anyway. These days, many kids have hobbies that are phone-based, such as watching videos or playing games. But there are still plenty of hobbies that don’t involve screens. So why not look at signing your kids up for these types of hobbies? At Gymfinity Kids, for instance, they can try their hand at gymnastics, or you could consider signing them up for a basketball/football team. Who knows, they might even discover a non-tech passion that sticks with them for the rest of their lives.
Tech Evenings
Finally, think about setting aside blocks of time where your kids — and you — can use technology guilt-free. It sounds counterproductive, but keep in mind that your kids will want to use technology sometimes; it’s not realistic to think that they’ll never look at their screens. If they know that Thursday evening is tech night, they’ll be more likely to accept not using their devices at other points during the week. Remember: technology in itself isn’t bad, it’s only when it’s used too much that it becomes problematic.
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