Preventing children from phone addiction in the summer

Equipped with smart mobile phones with internet connection, during the summer vacation, when they have a lot of free time, children often go online to watch movies, play games, surf social networks, etc. Many children consider their phones as an inseparable item, spending too much time in the virtual world, leading to negative effects. Parents need to pay attention and manage their children in the online environment, do not let children become too dependent on these technological devices.

Many children often play games and entertain themselves on social networking platforms. Parents need to guide their children to use technology devices appropriately and safely (illustrative photo).

Only a few weeks into the summer vacation, Ms. Ngoc in Phong Dien district has a headache because her children show signs of phone addiction, their temperaments change, they talk irritably, they stop doing everything to finish playing with their phones or watching TV, and when arguing with each other, they even use slang.

Just after the school year ended, Ngoc and her husband took their children on a few days of vacation and left them at home to play together while their parents went to work. Ngoc’s 13-year-old daughter has her own phone, and her 6-year-old son was bought an iPad by his mother. The first few days, her son went out to the yard to ride a bike, do puzzles, etc., but then he was glued to his phone playing games and watching TikTok with his mother. Ngoc’s daughter never left her phone, took her phone with her to eat and go to the bathroom, skipped her afternoon nap, and every time her mother reminded her, she got angry and refused to eat. One day, Ngoc was so angry that she confiscated her phone, and her daughter shouted, “Why are you treating me like this?”, then cried and made a fuss in all sorts of ways. Ngoc checked the phone and saw that her children were playing violent horror games, and several times they clicked on pornographic links advertised in the game; her daughter even went to friendship pages to make friends with strangers, etc. Seeing that the situation was not good, Ngoc discussed with her husband how to fix it.

Ms. Ngoc said: “I carefully explained and analyzed the harmful effects of phone addiction and viewing harmful content, and firmly limited the time my children spent using them. Although my house is far from work, I took advantage of the noon break to come home and have lunch with my children, and set a schedule together. My husband and I set an example by encouraging our children to read, cook, do housework, exercise, etc., both for fun and health. Now the children are more cooperative and less addicted to games. Next month, I will let my children learn foreign languages ​​and other subjects in the spirit of learning while playing.”

During summer vacation, Thao, 16, and her 10-year-old brother in Ninh Kieu district began to “let off steam”. Their father worked in the province, and their mother worked all day, so the two sisters stayed home with their grandparents and their 15-year-old cousin. They didn’t go to school, so they slept in comfortably, and the group’s schedule started at 10am; then they ate, played on their phones, and watched TV. Thao’s daughter was addicted to games before, and now she’s even more addicted. Sometimes, when she lost a game, her daughter screamed, making her grandmother think something was wrong with her. One time in the middle of the night, her grandmother discovered Thao and her brother sneaking out onto the balcony to play games while their mother was sleeping. Thao and her sister were criticized and promised not to repeat the offense.

Banning is not effective, so in addition to advising to reduce the amount of time spent playing games, Ms. Tuoi - Thao's mother, guides her children on how to use the phone in a fun and useful way. Ms. Tuoi teaches her children to record clips of daily activities such as grandparents cooking, baking, planting trees, taking care of pets, etc., combined with narration, music, and send them to their mother for scoring. Ms. Tuoi also offers rewards to those who are diligent in helping their grandparents with housework, reading books and expressing their thoughts well. Thanks to that, instead of watching useless content, the children spend time learning many skills and have a sense of responsibility.

Ms. Kim Thu in Cai Rang district uses at-home experiences to limit her child's use of the phone. Due to work requirements, Ms. Thu works all day, leaving her 13-year-old son to look after his 5-year-old brother. Ms. Thu installed a camera and asked her grandparents next door to help watch over him. Every day, as instructed by her mother, Ms. Thu's eldest son buys breakfast for his brother, sweeps the house, waters the plants... When he goes to the market with his grandmother, he takes his brother to play with his grandfather, then reads stories, colors, or goes to the court to play badminton. Both are allowed to use the phone and TV during a fixed period of time; at noon they eat with their grandparents, and in the evening their mother takes them out to play. On days when the son plays on the phone for a long time or takes a late nap, Ms. Thu calls to remind him and train him to be disciplined...

During the summer, children are on vacation but parents still have to go to work. This is also the time when parents worry about managing and controlling their children, especially the use of electronic devices. Some parents are so busy with work that they leave their children to their phones, televisions and virtual spaces on the internet. This is harmful because using electronic devices too much not only affects the physical health such as eye damage, scoliosis, obesity due to lack of exercise but also leads to many other mental consequences. Parents need to spend time caring for, talking to, and guiding their children to balance the time using electronic devices and outdoor activities, so that their children can have a safe, healthy and useful summer.

Article and photos: KIEU CHINH

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/phong-ngua-tre-nghien-dien-thoai-trong-mua-he-a187709.html