Use Digital Gadgets For Healthy Habits

Britti Aryal

One of the things kids enjoy these days is being on devices and gadgets. Children are obsessed with the television and digital devices like computers and smartphones. As a parent, we are all concerned about the consequences the children might face from using media applications. Media use has many risks and unhealthy side effects on children. It can affect how a child feels, learns, thinks, and behaves. 

There are always risks and benefits when it comes to gadget use. However, media habits can be healthy and useful too if handled properly.  The key is to develop the habits in children that help to strike a healthy balance in their daily lives. 

When used properly, communications gadgets have been a great tool for kids to learn and understand new things. Today, in this digital era children are growing digitally. They have a much more mature mind. Access to digital media has made children smarter and percipient. Media devices are intuitive and kids learn quickly. Children learn and grow when they explore the physical world around them and their minds learn best when they interact and play. 

And the digital tools have provided the opportunity. Kids no longer need to go outside to visualise and understand things around them. Digital media has created a better space for kids to explore what is going on around the world while sitting at home. 

It has been easier for children to understand what they see on screen media and relate to the world around them. That’s what helped them grow intellectually. It has helped them build up their knowledge on a range of topics. 

So, stopping your child from using media means you are trying to snatch your child’s intelligence and creativity. What you can do is, encourage healthy media habits for your children. Effects of media use always depend on the type of media, their use, amount, and extent a child uses. Therefore, proper guidance is needed to make the best out of their media use. 

Being a guardian, it is your responsibility to monitor the media use in children. This will help your kids develop healthy habits using smartphones, TVs, and devices.  Parents must develop personalised media use plans for their children. 

Looking at the child’s age, health, personality, developmental stage, and area of interest, media plans need to be implemented. When it comes to creating a habit in children, parents play an important role. Parents are important influencers for their children. Kids learn what they see, and parent’s media use has strong impact on a child’s media habits. Consequently, limiting your media habits helps maintain your child’s access to digital media and its area of use. 

Parents need to choose media that is interactive, nonviolent, and educational.  

It is necessary to limit the screen time of your child and if possible, co-view with them so that you can help them understand what they are seeing. Conversing with your kids about their media time – like what have they seen and what they learned – will help you know if your kids are utilising media time properly or not. 

Media uses should not hamper any other crucial activities of your child, thus proper monitoring is necessary. As a parent do not feel pressured to introduce digital media technologies early, instead encourage your child to better media programmes and healthier habits.