The amount of time spent by the youthful population behind screens a situation aggravated by internet connection platforms such as social media and virtual online gaming. This situation is alarming as the number of young people suffering from obesity, mental illnesses, anxiety, insomnia, and poor academic performance is very high. Below are some guidelines on how you can monitor your children’s internet usage activities in order to avoid addiction.
By making the internet and mobile phone access privilege is one of the best ways you can monitor their use. Due to the ready availability of internet connection, most underage don’t really know the impact the system has on them when they spend too much time surfing. Take appropriate measures and make your kids understand that access to mobile phones is not guaranteed. This way you keep the situation in control and limit the gratification your child gets from screen time and keep their impulses on internet use under control. The kids also spend more time on constructive tasks which build their character.
Being an example to your kids is also another strategy you can employ in monitoring the internet use at home. If you are on a social media outlet and telling your kids to get off theirs, it would be a really hard task as they follow your own example. You can teach them by limiting your screen time and also manually searching for content on answers you need from books, dictionaries, encyclopedias and avoid texting or using your phone when driving.
Setting rules is also another strategy you can use in regulating the use of mobile phones and the internet in your house. It is important that you make sure that all the rules are well understood by everyone and that they know the consequences they are likely to face if they fail to comply with what the rules stipulate. Some regulations you need to put up include switching off the Wi-Fi router when everyone is supposed to be asleep. If you want to deter your kids from adult content sites, you can have their access blocked in advance.
You can also encourage your kids to spend time on outdoor activities. Activities such as walks, a bicycle ride or playing in the park are some of the best ways your kids can spend time outside away from their mobile phones. Making meal time sacred is also a great way of keeping everyone off their phones. You can have a basket in which everyone puts their phones on silent mode and places them in the basket until dinner time is over. This gives everyone plenty of interactive time and offers in-depth personal conversations.