In this highly technical world, phones and televisions have become the gadget guru’s. Life with these objects is like a pocket full of sunshine. Not only adults are attracted towards it but also toddlers are becoming a part of it at a very early age.
We ourselves keep on saying the same statement: “Kids are taking birth with a technical mind”. But this none of us has realized who is responsible for making them this way.
“Yes, the answer is WE (the parents), our surroundings and our lifestyle”.
Colourful pictures, attractive videos, interesting games and a wide range of other such features have made it an irresistible entertainment toy for kids. Sadly, the quality of your child’s life is not measured by how well he plays the mobile games or how fast he/she is in operating the remotes and the mobile phones but by how we are growing our child detached from our Culture and Nature.
For many parents, now days it is coming as a challenge to keep their toddlers away from these electronic devices. Today, my motto is to save kids from “nature & culture deficit disorder”. So here I provide you with some simple ideas.
1. Engage Grand Parents- Grand parents can provide flexible time to their grand children. They can play well with them or can tell them the old religious and mythological stories. This way both the grandparents and your kids can remain busy and happy.
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2. Find other parents in the neighbourhood and swap play dates - these days, everyone feels more comfortable to remain at home with their toddlers. The best way for young moms to find out time for themselves and at the same time being attentive for their kids is, inviting their friends or their neighbourhood kids for play-dates at home in a repetitive manner accordingly. In this way, toddlers will be able to do their favourite work i.e. playing as they enjoy their company, simultaneously they can learn sharing and socializing from the early age, detaching them from gadgets.
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3. Set a good example- We all know, “kids are best imitators”. They try to do the same things that they see around, like sometimes you must be tapping your TV remotes to start your TV and you will definitely find your kids doing the same things some day, yes its funny but it happens. So it’s the parent’s duty to set the right example for their kids. They need to model the types of behaviour they want their children to imbibe. So try to minimise the use of phones and TV in front of your kids or use at the time when your kids are not around.
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4. Attach them to Nature- Nature proves to be a natural therapy for kids. Try to take them to park or some green area near your home every day where you can find some swings. In this way kids will enjoy the greenery and also will feel refreshed .Children are growing very smart , they will soon find some new games in an open environment and mothers will definitely feel happy as your child is away from gadgets. Also you can read some childhood rhymes or stories in the outer area as reading stimulates the imagination, especially when it’s done outside.
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5. Plan their schedule- It’s not feasible to not to keep TV’s and phone in your home. So the better option is to keep TV’s in your living rooms rather than in your bedroom and try to minimise the use of phones in front of kids. Also avoid saying “No” all the time because kids usually do the things that they are not allowed to do. So plan the schedule of your kids watching their favourite cartoons or any channel that provides useful information for half an hour or so. In this way, neither they are completely restricted from these gadgets nor are they addicted of such items. Everything should be done in a balanced way.
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6. Create new opportunities at home- As we all know “empty mind is a devil’s home”. So always try to engage your child in some new things like they can be made busy playing with colours and water such as hand-painting, using waste material at home (like toilet paper roll, newspapers, etc.) to make some creative stuff, provide them with some colouring books etc. Also you can allow them to play with plants at home, in this way their immunity will also get developed as they will be close to mud and they will come close to the nature, where nature proves to be a good teacher.
A toddler’s age is basically an age of walking, talking and playing. Instead of spoiling their age in dropping the gadgets in their hands, I hope each and every mom is going to save their kids’ age and future by rewarding them with the best thing i.e. their time which is going to result in a well behaved and a happy child.
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This post was originally published on Indian Moms Community