Mobile/cell phone and children
Children's health, growth and development
Key
Points
- Is mobile an effective means?
- The fun that initially feels then turns into a habit
- Whois responsible for children's mobile habits?
- Mobile/cellphone and children's health
- What should parents do to keep their children away from mobile?
- Give children as much time as possible.
- Engage children in other activities
- Parents' questions related to mobile phone
- Destroy the plant of habit before it becomes a tree
Is mobile an effective means of communication, entertainment, and education?
In recent times,
mobile phones have become an integral part of human life. Nowadays, the mobile phone
plays a significant role in our lives, even if it also has some disadvantages.
It is known as the fastest means of communication. It is useful for
communication as well as for entertainment and education.
There are so
many educational apps available on the internet. These are also useful for
educating children. There is no doubt that mobile is an effective means of
communication, entertainment, business, and education. So use it at a limit, or
else it is harmful.
From the point
of view of the children, it is not easy to find the perfect free or paid
educational app on the net. Because there are so many jumbling apps available
on the net, and children cannot choose the right app, they only spend their
study time searching the web. With the
help of their parents, they can do it, but every child's parents do not have much time because of their jobs, duties, business, and so on.
Mobile is an
effective means of communication, business, entertainment, and education. If
you use it for useful purposes, it is effective elsewhere and is a time-wasting
tool. Mobile and its apps are beneficial for the children, who handle it
freely. But what about the small kids? Why are they attracted to mobile at a
young age? What are the reasons for attracting the kids to the mobile?
Let's see.
The fun that initially feels then turns into a habit
We see that
there are many mobile handsets in a family. The reason is that if the mobile is
damaged, broke down or stopped working. You cannot wait till it gets working
again. At home, small kids are watching their parents' excessive use of mobile.
Kids are imitators, so they are also attracted to mobiles.
In the
beginning, without your knowing, children take a mobile phone and do the same
as grownups do. They perform the same gestures as other people in the family
do. All the family members like its
imitation. Then they said to each other, look at its gestures with a big smile,
and appreciate the child. Even the child feels that it is doing something new,
and then it thinks we should have a mobile. We have seen that when another
person tries to get the mobile from its hand, children start to cry loudly, run
here and there, jump over things, and some even roll on the ground. We have
seen that some parents have even made their videos viral as a compliment.
Such children used to be appreciated, but we don't notice that they are unknowingly
going into a mobile habit.
Nowadays, if
children are not eating, some mothers give mobiles to the children. The mother
feeds the child while the child is looking at the mobile. The child is also
eating, but the child is not paying attention to the food. It is interesting to watch the mobile. The mother is feeding the meal to the child. The child is
also eating, but no one notices that their stomach is filled or not. The
satisfaction of having food is on the mother's face. But then, they keep
looking for the cause of their stomach ache. We don't even notice when watching
mobile while eating turns into a habit.
Who is responsible for children's mobile habits?
Not only a particular person in the family but also all the family members like the mother,
father, and some other members who live in the same house are also responsible
for the children's mobile habits.
No one in the
family controls the use of their mobile in front of the children.
In the past,
when parents would return home from the market, the children would wait
anxiously. They looked curiously, thinking what their parents had bought them
from the market? But nowadays when parents come home, the children's eyes are
not on the bags but on the purse which has a mobile in it. They immediately ask
for a mobile. Does this show that in children's points of view, what is most
important?
Mobile/cell phone and children's health
Excessive use of
mobile phones is harmful to health, especially children's health. Doctors have
warned from time to time. The use of mobile is dangerous for the health of children.
A new study says
that smartphones may ruin children's eyesight. The excessive use of mobile
affects children's eyes. Because of the bright light, the eyes become red, so
they have to consult the doctor of the eye from time to time.
The habit of
mobile affects the loss of memory. If children play mobile games on mobile for
a long time, it can cause pain in the fingers. The mobile habitual children are
not mixing with other children. So, they become lonely. Such children are
interested in their self activities. They don't exercise because they don't go
out to play. So, they don't sleep well at night. It also affects their school
activities and studies.
Many experts
have explained that such types of isolated children's logical levels do not
develop because they don't mix with other children. They can't enjoy the games
on the ground. Such children also have very few friends. All the little ones
are talking about mobile games, what had they watched on mobile? Which games
had they played on the mobile? Their main subject of discussion is only mobile
and mobile-related activities.
What should parents do to keep their children away from mobile?
If really,
parents want their children away from mobile, they will have to make some
changes in their habits.
While you are at
home, don't handle mobile in front of the children for any reason. Try to
avoid the unnecessary use of mobile when children are at home. Don't talk about
mobile and mobile-related issues.
Because of your
work, all the family members in your home can't have lunch together, so why
not have dinner together? At that time of dinner, all the members of the family
will talk freely and be friendly with each other. Discuss the events that happened
throughout the day. This situation will help to make the atmosphere in the
house happy and healthy.
Enjoying a meal
without the hassle of a mobile will be something different. If you want to keep
the family environment happy and keep the children away from the mobile, then
put the mobile away for a while.
Give children as much time as possible.
While at home,
parents should give their children as much time as possible. If both father and
mother are away from home for their work or business, they are not able to
spend much time with their children. When children are alone at home, they
become nervous. We have seen that isolated children are waiting for their
parents standing at the door, standing near the gate, or standing in the
gallery many times.
As soon as the child sees their father entering the house, it rushes towards him and takes the
mobile from his hand. Such kids are eagerly waiting for you to come home,
actually not for you, but for your mobile. So, parents have to decide, your
children waiting for you or your mobile.
Engage children in other activities
The parents need
to spend as much time with their children as possible. Especially when parents
are at home, they must spend a lot of time with them. When you are at home,
teach the children painting, drawing, handicrafts, and music. Teach them to
dance, play instruments, puzzles, handwriting, read, indoor and outdoor
games. These types of activities not only make the children happy but also
teach them some creativity. It will also show the interest of the children. If
you encouraged their confidence and convinced them, they understood it
immediately.
Parents' questions related to mobile phones
Most of the
parents ask the following questions about cell phones, mobile phones, or
smartphones.
Is cell phone radiation risky for the health of the children?
Many experts
explained that mobile phones, cell phones, or smartphone radiation are
dangerous for children. It has many side effects on children's health. Cell
phone exposure could affect children's behavior.
Excessive use of
mobile phones is harmful not only to children but also to elders too. The
radiation of the phone badly affects children's brains. It affects
children's spine when children use it most hours daily by putting down their
necks.
Is mobile good for children?
Doctors advised
that under the age of 12 or 13 strictly avoid giving mobiles to children. If
children use it for a while, it is not very harmful, but excessive use is bad
for children's health.
What age is proper for a mobile phone?
According to Pew
Research Center, the average age is between 12 and 13, but when to get your
child a cell phone is a personal decision and can vary from kid to kid based on
maturity and need. Before you decide to add your child to your family plan, ask
yourself these questions. Why Does He/ She Need It?
How do parents
stop their children's mobile addiction? Parents should limit their use
of mobile. Put it away when parents and children are at home. If you want
mobile should not disturb your children's concentration at the time of the
study, parents should disable or minimize some notifications of the mobile.
If children are addicted to mobile, then it is not easy to get rid of mobile
addiction.
Destroy the plant of habit before it becomes a tree
If the plant of
habit is small, it is possible to take it off.
But if it becomes a tree, it is nearly impossible to root it out. So it
is necessary to destroy any habit before it becomes a tree. We have seen in many
cases children who became addicted to mobile. Then the lack of
communication, they became isolated, and then they committed suicide.
To avoid these
types of situations, we have to keep an eye on the children's activities, find
out their habits, communicate openly with them, protect them from being lonely; and give them maximum time at home.
If you make some
changes related to the mobile phone, it will not be a loss, but it will be
beneficial. Because of mobile phones, the world has come closer; it has become an
unavoidable part of our lives. There is no doubt about it, but it is equally
important and necessary to ensure that this convenience does not turn into
an addiction.
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