The growing dependence on gadgets is causing serious concern among parents and professionals. Parents often face the need to set restrictions on the use of smartphones and the reaction of children to such activities.
Oksana Gomel, a psychologist, spoke about a set of actions that will help parents solve the problem of smartphone addiction in a comment to UNN.
We can't determine the universal time, because every child spends their time on a smartphone differently. If she spends it only on entertainment-this behavior needs to be regulated, but this is more of an individual story
She says that more and more modern parents give their child access to a smartphone for up to three hours, and how the child spends this time is his choice.
"In my opinion, three hours is more than enough, but this is already the choice of parents and their individual vision," says Gomel.
The psychologist explains that due to the constant presence in Gadgets, the child does not develop their social skills, self-organization and self-entertainment skills. This is what is becoming a problem for modern children, and different approaches of parents also affect the dependence on a smartphone.
Because parents are busy, it is easier for them to give their child access to "Entertainment" than to pay attention to them and entertain them on their own. Therefore, there is a certain vicious circle here, such is the world now and you will not escape from it anywhere. You can't forbid your child to use gadgets at all and shout that it should be abandoned – this is not the right thing to do. You need to adapt to this so that children understand that the phone is just an additional entertainment
Gomel says that parents need to find this balance on their own, because parents better understand how to raise their children, and if you have any questions, you need to contact a specialist.
Of course, there are situations when parents do not want to see that their children are addicted to smartphones. If they turned a blind eye to this, and then decided that they would control their child, it ends in tantrums. Therefore, in adolescence, trying to correct this addiction is the same as treating it, because you should have started in elementary school
According to her, if you notice that you "missed" something in elementary school, then start doing it in middle school and correct this situation.
Here you need a systematic education, and not "today I will yell at you and pick up the phone, and tomorrow I will give it to you myself, so that you do not distract me, so that I rest" – this is not how it works
Psychology emphasizes that children need to explain why their phone is being taken away, for what purpose, and what consequences long-term use of gadgets will have.
There is no magic wand, but there must be consistency, so let's proceed from this. The main principle is a personal example. This does not mean that the child will do everything like you, but if you spend the whole day in a smartphone, and the child is forbidden to do it, then the question will arise why you can and she can't
Oksana Gomel recommends uploading educational games to your child's gadget and, of course, installing parental control on sites that can cause psychological harm.
We do not just ban gadgets, but give you options for how to replace it – a book, board games, invite friends to visit, or some joint activity with your parents will become an alternative
recall
California Governor Kevin Newsom announced Tuesday that he wants to limit students ' use of smartphones during the school day, citing mental health risks associated with social media.