Being a parent we face many challenges from our kids. Among them, the phone is one of the integral ones. Kids often request for the phone for their entertainment. But knowing about the disadvantages of the phone, we retrieve the usage of the phone. This may sometimes make them sad while sometimes they start nagging about the matter.
But at one point in time, we need to answer to their request. We have to give them the phone. With time, younger kids are getting habituated with mobile and they are finding their source of entertainment through this device. According to reports, the research says that now the average age considered allowing phone is 10 years.
Here are the benefits of using a mobile phone
But let me share with you some good news. Giving the kids the smartphones is advantageous too. There are many more pros than the cons of owning a phone for the kids. In this article, we will be discussing some of the pros that the mobile can provide for your kids.
- A mode of contact during an emergency.
The phone is an excellent mode of contact with your kids during an emergency. You may not be with them always but can know where they are and what are they doing through a smartphone. You can give them a call at any time. There are also many apps which can help you to track your child with smart phones. This is thus a very important device for the kids to keep with them.
- Increased social interaction
If your kid is a type of introvert and cannot socialize easily, well you can try out with the social media. With the smartphone, they can interact and socialize easily. By this, they can grow the habit of socializing over the digital platform. Slowly the kid will start socializing in the physical world too. Internet built up the habit of establishing friendship and fosters the childhood friends.
- Helping them to learn responsibility
While you are frightened at the thought of giving your kid that expensive phone, let’s change it to something positive. Give your child the expensive phone and teach him about the responsibility that is given on him or her for the phone. Teach them about taking care of it and keeping it safe. Thus they would learn of taking responsibilities of such things in life later on.
It can be used on the other side too. Teach them how to spend the money on the phone charging, internet data pack etc. check their usage and teach them how to use it worthily. At the month starting, tell them how much data plan they are having and how much they are allowed to spend on each day. Tell them to plan how to spend it. Thus this would help them to track their own spending and limit the overspending mentality.
When your kids are overspending or crossing limits frequently, set some bad consequences for the result. This would help them to remember the limited spending.
- Technologically advanced
This is the era of technology and you are dependent on it. Then our kids must get the touch s technology too. This is normal. Being a parent we cannot let them away from the technology when the era is being ruled by it. The only thing is that we should teach how to use technology in good ways. The smartphone is a device which can make kids more knowledgeable about the latest technologies. It helps them to get acquainted with it more readily than any other way. So we must allow kids to get habituated with such device but in limited usage. Especially they will be introduced with top android games which will be beneficial for them.
- It is a great form of educational support
Mobile is required by the children to support them with their education. Even schools and colleges are getting updated and they are having apps for convenience. The apps help the students to get updates. These apps can also allow parents to know about each of the student’s performance at the school. Gone are those days when the parents need to visit the teacher for the updates of the students.
Besides, the internet is the ocean of information which is quite useful while studying. For some references or some guide, the internet can be consulted. The students can get a lot of information from here. Well, that can be done through the computer too. But mobile is easily carried and also an easy alternative to the computer.
How to keep an eye on the phone usage of your kid
So these are the pros of using a mobile phone for children. But being a responsible parent we should have an eye on how and what are the mobile phone used for. Here are some of the tips to have a note on their usage:
- Check out phones at least one time in a day and check their calls list, inbox, outbox social media profiles.
- Keep a check on their data plans and you should decide the plan for them
- Limit the timing that they should be using the phone. Give 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours at night.
- Along with the digital life, encourage them to be physical and exist in the physical world too.
- There are many apps available now a day which can allow you to track every step of your children over the phone. Download such apps and install them. They are easily available over Google. It would be a much easier way to have a look.
Conclusion
Wrapping up the article, children need to be updated with the technology. But over-usage can cause problems with them. Problem scan is many and varied- eye problem, psychological problem. Often overspending time on mobile can cause restlessness or lack of sleep. Thus all these have an impact on everyday life. Even some time they get so much used to it that not a single moment is spent without it. So parents should take care of all these things even after allowing the phone. We should be matching steps with the developing era of this time.
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