A Parent’s Guide to Helping Their Child Understand Tech
Most parents have a love-hate relationship with technology. For example, they can be a perfect gift for 8 year old boys and girls. On the one hand, they enjoy being in contact with friends and family without leaving home. On the flip side, however, there are major concerns about how much time children spend online and what impact it will have on them as adults. To address these concerns, we've created a parenting guide that includes some tips to help your kids understand the technology so you can feel more secure with your kids playing or watching online videos for hours every day.
How do you distinguish if your child is tech addict?
There is no official definition of "addiction" to
games, but many experts agree that those who play video games at levels that
interfere with daily life can be addicts.
If your child plays more than an hour a day on weekdays and
two or more hours on weekends, they are likely spending too much time on.
Another sign of addiction could be as soon as others are
complaining about how often your child plays video games. In this case, they
may not realize the impact their game is having on those around them.
What are the dangers of spending too much time in front of
the screen?
According to a recent study by Common Sense Media, children
today spend an average of seven and a half hours every day using the media in
some form. These include watching TV shows / movies, reading printed books,
streaming videos online, and playing video games, all of which can negatively
affect your physical, mental, and social wellbeing.
Too much screen time has been related to overweightness. It
often leads broods to choose sedentary activities such as watching television
or video games, over exercising, or exercising outside.
In addition, many parents have expressed concern near the
impact of technology on cognition as children fail to learn to think
strategically, which could adversely affect academic performance.
Why kids have to pull the plug and go external
To combat some of these undesirable side effects of having
too much screen time, experts recommend allowing all devices to have at least
an hour a day with their devices turned off so your child can focus on spending
time with family and friends. You should spend some time outside, get some
fresh air, learn a fun activity like skateboarding tricks from a skateboarding
instructor, and just have entertaining!
Many believe that the best way to communicate technology to
your children is to use it as a tool rather than giving them constant access.
That way, they understand how it works and what the limitations are to
encourage critical thinking.
Tips on how parents can help their children use technology
in a healthy way
Some ideas for parents are:
Let your child know when they connect all devices or turn
off at night so everyone can get enough sleep.
Transparency about why there are certain rules so that
children understand that there is nothing to hide from them.
They schedule times each day when screens are not allowed,
such as during meals or after dinner before bed.
Establish a family agreement with the media to make sure
everyone understands the rules and the consequences of violating them.
The key to understanding the technology landscape is knowing
how it is affecting your child, knowing what they're doing on a screen, and why
you're helping them guide them through this complicated world of technology. By
learning more, you will be better prepared for your children's futures in an
ever-changing technological society.
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