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Top 7 Boundaries You Need to Set for Children Using Technology
In today's date, technology is everything. Education, work, and life altogether is dependent on technology. Be it, adults, be it, kids, be it, teenagers, everyone likes to spend most of their time on devices. In the wake of this pandemic, even schools have shifted to online classes. Even before that technology in schools was gaining a lot of significance. So, technology for children has become a must. However, they use it not only for their online classes or assignments, but they use it literally all the time to play games or watch videos.
Now, the usage has reached such an extent that parents find it extremely difficult to limit it, it seems like the control has been lost. The worst part is that they have started living in their technological world or simply put, their virtual world. The kids refrain themselves from spending time with family and are becoming more distant day by day. This is why most parents worry even more. This addiction is far more dangerous than it seems. Using technology intensively has its drawbacks. Several pitfalls will make any parent worry even more.
Technology for children can have a grave effect on physical as well as mental health. Some of the major issues that a child faces due to the usage of technology are as follows:
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Negative impact on the academic performance
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Sleeping disorders
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Addiction to the games and the internet in general
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Behavioural issues
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Obesity issues
These were just a few out of many issues that a child can encounter without realizing the impact of technology on their daily lives. So, what can a parent do to curb it? How can a parent set boundaries for children using technology? It seems like an overwhelmingly difficult task. Nonetheless, it isn't. We have made a quick list of 7 ways to set boundaries for the usage of technology for children. Here is the list, let us have a look together.
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No device rule- As technology is affecting family time, parents can set up rules to avoid this. They can strictly say no to devices on dining tables, or during playtimes and family outings. To avoid sleeping disorders, parents can make another rule that there are no devices in the bedroom. This will work wonders for young children. While this no device in bedroom rule might not work on teenage kids, the family time rule might work and an understanding can be achieved on that one.
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Strategize a balance- As the schools and homework are being done online due to the pandemic, parents cannot snatch away the services. However, parents can come up with a plan to maintain a balance. Plan as in a schedule in which a kid will have dedicated time to use the technology apart from his schoolwork time. This way even the kid won't feel that parents are restricting them too much and parents can also moderate the usage of technology for children.
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Set limits and child locks- With the advancement of technology, certain features will help parents to set limits as well as child lock on certain applications that parents do not want their children to use. That way parents can monitor the usage of technology pretty well.
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Encourage them for outdoor fun activities- Taking your kids out for fun activities and sports will connect them more with the real world. They will avoid the risk of obesity and other physical risks that might be the case because of the excessive use of technology. Parents can also plan some activities that include the participation of the entire family so that kids will be more interested in it.
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Teach about technology- If parents continuously tell their kids to not use technology, then they sometimes tend to use it even more. So, the best way could be to teach them about the dangers of technology and its excessive usage. Once they know about the pros and cons of it, then they will be careful while using it.
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Set an example- It is fair and square that kids learn what they watch, and if parents are using the technology all the time, then there is a high chance that kids would do the same. So, parents need to be careful with what they do with technology.
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Be involved- The best way to understand your child and help them to set boundaries themselves is to understand their needs for using the technology. Sit with them while they play games and watch with them what they watch and that will make it easy to moderate it.
So, this was the quick set of ways to set boundaries for the usage of technology for children. Setting boundaries is not to adhere to the rules that we have mentioned but you can create your set of rules and ways with the help of it. Also, every child is different and they need to be treated differently. So, if a parent plans to set a boundary, then they should first understand their kids and then do it. But, to conclude we would say that setting a boundary is extremely important.