Summer is coming to an end and soon it will be time to go back to school, to schedules and routines. Have been more than two months of vacation, in which the children have enjoyed as a family, have played, have done countless activities and have attended camps.
But it is likely that they have also spent time in front of the screens; even more than we would like. The freedom of schedules and the need for parents to rest or have a quiet desktop may have made them phones and tablets in inseparable friends of our children and now it's time to "disengage."
"I leave you the tablet, but only for a little while!"
Sure at the beginning of summer We prepare a lot of plans to make with our children: activities, excursions, outdoor games or at home. Everything, with the sole purpose of entertaining and enjoying how they deserve their vacations.
But there may have come a time when for them, the days have started to get too long and repeat again and again that of: "Mom, I get bored. Will you leave me the tablet for a little while?"And maybe we, for pleasing them or getting a relaxing moment, have given in.
We may also be so tired that we need to take a nap, sleep a little more in the morning or simply enjoy a meal or a desktop in a relaxed way. And again television, mobile or tablet go to the fore.
And, although we know that it is not recommended for children, it's hard not to be tempted to leave them a mobile device if that is going to report us a short time of rest, even though then we feel tremendously guilty.
In summer the use of screens by children increases considerably compared to the rest of the year, where they spend most of their time in school or doing extracurricular activities.
If this happens from isolated and for short periods of time, there should be no problem. But if these types of situations become everyday or if the child gets to spend several hours in front of the screens, we could encounter an addiction problem
How to know if my child has become addicted to screens?
Making a responsible use of technologies and combining them with other activities and physical sports, there would be no problems in children turning to mobiles, tablets or television at specific times.
Even so, the American Pediatric Association marks the 18 months as the limit below which children should not have access to screens, and suggests that in children between two and five years use be limited to one hour a day.
But of continuous form we skip these recommendations made by the experts and overreach the use of technology, we could find ourselves, almost without realizing it !, with a serious case of addiction that could present, among others, these characteristics:
- Our son cries inconsolably if we don't leave his cell phone or take it away
- Suffer a trowel when running out of battery or connection
- You are not able to eat, dress, wash or perform any other daily activity if you do not have the tablet or mobile phone as an incentive
- Lose interest in play, sports, reading or any other hobby that is not linked to the screens
- For example, you are unable to wait quietly for food to be served if you do not have a smartphone or tablet
- Your behavior or sleep quality begin to alter
Tips to "unhook them" from the screens
If we effectively detect that there is a problem and that our child is "hooked" to the screens, professional help may be necessary, especially if we are talking about teenagers for whom, the withdrawal of the mobile, could involve certain family or behavior problems, as the psychologist Andrés Cánovas alerts.
If we have decided to take the measure of limit your daily use or playtime, it is best that parents be responsible for that iPad, phone or computer, so that when our child wants to play should ask permission. If, on the other hand, electronic devices are within your reach, you can use them whenever you want without having a record of the time you stay hooked.
But, if we consider that the tablet or any other device has become a serious problem for our children, we will have to proceed to "unhook them" temporarily removing the screens.
This article published in The New York Post and written by Doctor Nicholas Kardaras, author of the book "How screen addiction is kidnapping our children and how to break the trance," explains through a real case, what to do to " digitally detoxify our children.
On the other hand, it is convenient that we offer children alternatives to the screens, replacing them with other types of activities and games. Let's change television for sports, digital games for board games, puzzles or crafts, and iPad for books.
That is, it is not about removing the iPad without more, but to show them the amount of fun options they have at their fingertips. If we get them to show interest in sports, reading or any other activity, we will have taken an important step.
It is also essential that let's talk with our children and explain why we are limiting the use of screens. But, for this, it is important that we set an example leaving the mobile side. Let's take advantage of family lunches and dinners to chat among all without the interruption of a television set, and we bet on the free communication of technological devices that so much damage they do sometimes preventing contact and quality time with ours.
ISotck photos
In Xataca The generation of parents who feel guilty because their children spend a lot of time watching screens, how do I administer the technology in summer to children?
In Babies and More Use and abuse of technology, the benefits translate into problems when children use them too long, Many nerves and little sleep: how to help them back to school, With YouTube Kids and Netflix Kids at home this summer Who will want to take a nap?
