Five Tips to Help Save Your Child from Technology Addiction

Could too much time in tech lead to rebellious or even worse behavior with your child?

An Iowa teenager recently ran away from home when his parents took his cell phone from him.

As reported by most of the mainstream media, the 13-year-old boy was found dead about five days later.

While no one will ever know what actually caused this boy’s death, and various problems could have affected his behavior, taking away his cell phone was certainly a contributing factor to an argument between the boy and his parents.

Today, many young people get addicted to their tech gadgets at a young age. Many parents give their children iPads and tablets by the age of 2, some even earlier.

Studies are beginning to appear indicating the problems associated with technology addiction.

Too much time on the device can lead to slow development of social skills and a lack of communication. It can also have long-term physical effects on brain development and related problems.

Here are five helpful tips to reduce technology dependency and increase healthy conversations.

1. Give very young children blocks and toys, not devices. The best toys will engage a child’s senses, spark his imagination, and encourage him to interact with others. As they grow, babies can use toys to explore object permanence and cause-and-effect relationships. They also need objects like blocks to help develop motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

2. Parents should put away their devices and set a good example. The demands of society can be harsh, but mom and dad need to stay away from their devices and talk to their kids. Create device-free moments around dinner and later. Interact with your children by playing board games and other activities that encourage conversation. Work-related messages can always be answered after the children have gone to bed.

3. Consider giving your child / teen a flip phone instead of a smartphone. A flip phone encourages more conversations and discourages Internet access and application use. If you must provide your child with a phone because you don’t have a landline and your child is left home alone, or if you need to pick up your child from school or practice and need to be able to communicate, a flip phone will suffice. satisfy.

4 Keep “device boundaries” between your child and their friends so they don’t dominate their life. When scheduling play dates, sleepovers, and social outings … ask parents about their device policy and stick to it. Don’t let your child bring their device to a friend’s house if that family has a free device policy. If you must contact your child, obtain the parent’s phone number to contact your child.

5. Learn how to limit screen time and block content. If you have concerns about the technology, but not to the point where you feel it should be removed entirely, learn about the best products on the market for blocking content, enforcing screen time limits, etc. Some good applications for this are Circle and Bark.