Staying moderated in everything you do is an important lesson you must teach your kids, as an excess of everything is bad. Valuing time is another trait your kids must possess in order for them to live a successful life. Unfortunately, most of the kids seem to lack both these traits, something that is made obvious by their over-indulgence in smartphones. This little gadget has hijacked our youngsters’ life and is influencing it in a negative way. It is important to address this issue before it’s too late.
Set a Smartphone Use Policy
There is no harm in providing teens with smartphones as long as they use them in moderation. Unfortunately this happens rarely, which is why it’s best to set a smartphone use policy right from the day you hand over the device to them. It’s better to write down the rules just to make your kids realize that you are very serious about these rules. You may also mention the consequences of not complying with the policy. Also, make sure you implement the rules and take given actions on their violation. When dealing with kids, it doesn’t hurt to take a few extra precautions. If you doubt your youngsters’ intention to stick to the rules, you can always take help of a parental control app like SecureTeen to manage and control their smartphone use through the time-based schedule feature.
Install a Parental Control App
Anxiety and depression were previously linked to adults only, but they have now become common ailments among teens as well. Somehow smartphones are making the situation worse. Various researchers are blaming smartphones for rising rate of teen suicides. Obviously, you cannot keep an eye on kids all day long, especially with your job and other responsibilities, so it is best to look for an alternative solution. Installing a digital parenting aid like SecureTeen can resolve your supervision concerns to a large extent. Such apps serve their purpose by keeping you updated with everything your kids do on their smartphone, including their browsing history, SMS and MMS, call logs. Some of these apps even let you keep tabs on the location of kids, thus making it possible for you to know that they aren’t somewhere they shouldn’t be.
Introduce Kids to New Hobbies
Have you ever wondered why kids are almost addicted to smartphones? Maybe it’s because they do not have anything else to do. Well, in this case, you should give them a strong reason to limit the use of the smartphone. Introduce them to new hobbies as it will not only help them learn new things, but will also keep them busy. You may enroll them in piano class or buy them a few plants to take care of. It’s even better to take them for cycling or a long walk daily.
Talk about Safe Use of Technology
Excessive use of smartphone can affect kids’ health, studies and social life. In addition, it increases their chances of experiencing cyberbullying. Being naïve and inexperienced in such matters, your kids may be oblivious to the existence and seriousness of such threats. Therefore, you must make it a point to sit down with them and not just educate them on the safe use of technology, but also make them aware of the consequences of negligence and recklessness.