Understanding Appropriate Digital Limits for Your Child
Spy Phone at Jun 19 2020 1:28PM
Understanding Appropriate Digital Limits for Your Child
With the rapid digitization of the world, it is now clear that many digital devices have now become ingrained into our daily lives. We use digital tools for communicating, for shopping, for reading, for entertainment, etc. and it is increasingly becoming more difficult to separate ourselves from the tech revolution.
Even young children are not free from the clutches of digital devices. In fact, kids are more likely to become addicted to such devices including mobile phones, laptops, tablets, TV, gaming devices, etc. Especially for young kids today, electronic devices are the main forms of entertainment they have grown up with and this has made it harder for them to step away from the screen.
This is also why setting digital limits for children is so important. As parents, you are responsible for the healthy development and growth of your child and excessive exposure to digital media can be damaging for your kids. At the same time, it is not rational for you to completely ban any sort of digital device or screen time because these are things that have become more or less essential for their learning, school work as well as entertainment.
So, where and how can parents draw the line? What is the appropriate digital limit that you should set for your child?
What parents can do
Most parents today understand that their kids are growing up in a high-tech world and the good news is that they also agree they need to help their children develop and implement safe and healthy habits for using technology.
The first measure you can do towards achieving this goal is to control the amount of time your kids spend in front of a screen. If you don’t set any restrictions, your child will likely spend the entire day looking at the phone or tablet or TV and this could severely affect their development.
According to the American Academy of Pedatrics, children who are under 18 months should not play with screen-based media. Adult-supervised video chatting may be an exception.
For children aged between 18 months to 2 years old, parents should choose the kind of content they consume and also watch with them.
For kids between 2 to 5 years old, one hour per day of screen time is enough, and the kind of media content they consume should be vetted and of high-quality.
For kids aged 6 and above, it is important for parents to set consistent limits on the amount of time spent in front of digital media, as well the type of media.
With apps like spy phone, spy phone app, and phone tracker, monitoring your child’s digital and online activity is easier.