Excessive Screen Time of Your Kid? Figure Out How to Avoid This Smoothly
Kids today are more engaged in indoor activities rather than going out and playing outside or doing other outdoor activities. This is because of the ever-increasing use of mobile phones. People have become so involved in using mobile phones these days that they have forgotten what it’s like to go out, have fun outside and play sports. These modern changes are affecting the kids of a new generation.
A free phone tracker is the first thing that someone might think of trying in this situation. This article is for all those parents that want their kids to avoid mobile phones.
Part 1: What Can Be the Negative Effects of Excessive Screen Time?
Before discussing FamiSafe, this phone tracker app can be used to track the screen time of your kid. Let’s see some of the negative impacts of excessive screen time:
1. Poor Social Skills
Kids that spend way too much time on their phones lack good interaction and social skills. They are way too involved on their phones, and as a result, they get awkward and nervous when they have to interact with their friends or anyone outside. Digital devices should be avoided because their obsessive use of them keeps growing, and it becomes difficult to help the kids with time.
2. Over Emotional Behavior
Kids that play video games tend to become more emotional and overly competitive. Violent games, in particular, make them more vicious, and they lose control over their emotions and become more aggressive with time. In this way, screen time can affect the emotions of your child, and if not taken care of, the consequences could be huge.
3. Lack of Sleep
Too much screen time is one of the reasons for insomnia. The research says that digital screens emit blue light that directly affects your sleep because it affects your sleeping hormones, i.e., melatonin. Leaving your phone late at night and sleeping at a late hour will make waking up early very hard. This affects the whole life cycle, ultimately making you lazy and weak.
4. Childhood Obesity
Getting overweight is not only a problem for adults anymore. The digital world has made childhood obesity very common which will lead to diabetes and even cardiovascular diseases in the future. Spending way too much time on screen makes the kids lazy, and as a result, they become reluctant to do any physical activities or exercises. This is the gateway to many other health-related problems as well.
5. Weak Cognitive Abilities
Excessive screen time has a direct impact on mental health as well. This affects your brain’s ability to think and learn new things making you a slow thinker. It can ultimately influence your memory, making it weak, and the ability to concentrate is affected a great deal. This is a worrisome situation, especially for parents, because it will affect their kids for life.
The wait is over! Now we will be discussing one of the most reliable parental control apps, FamiSafe. It is a great app to try if you want to keep your kids away from their phones. This app has many amazing features that let you control your kid’s phone usage. You can monitor your child’s phone activity and track everything that the kids are up to.
FamiSafe offers incredible screen time monitoring features. If your kid is spending way too much time watching YouTube, looking at cartoons, playing games, or using social media, there is no way they would give up the phone by themselves. One way to make them leave their phone is to add screen time limitations. You can set a schedule for their screen time; this way, they won’t develop a habit of staying on their phone all time.
This app provides screen time reports so you can look at them and get an idea of how much time your kid is spending on the phone. The average screen usage will also show which apps are being used more so you can have a better idea of which apps should be restricted or limited.
Part 3: How Can You Avoid Excessive Screen Time of Your Kids?
What are some things you guide and do with your kids as a parent to minimize their screen time? Let’s see some things that can help you:
1. Do More Outdoor Activities
Kids can only develop a habit of going out more and playing when you push them towards it from the start. Doing outdoor activities is also beneficial for physical and mental health. Playing physical games is like exercising; it makes your kid active and gets their juices flowing. This ultimately makes them stronger and go out to see the world, and spending time like this is good for mental health as well.
2. Doing Arts and Crafts
Doing some fun arts and crafts is always a good idea to spend time creatively. If kids have such habits from the beginning, then they spend less time using digital devices. You can bring them paints, colors or crayons to draw something or paint a picture. Doing some creative origami is also fun; you can watch some videos and make something out of paper with your kids.
3. Play Board Games
Playing board games keeps your kids away from the phone; such games need focus, so it gets their brain cells running. Kids that play board games are thought to be sharper and more intelligent than those who don’t. Games like Monopoly are fun to play, they keep the kids engaged, and it is also an exercise for the brain. Moreover, you can bring them puzzles and other brainy games like that.
4. Bake with Kids
You can do baking with your kids because it doesn’t require any knives, or you don’t need to turn on the stove for it. Baking is safe for kids, so there is no harm in calling them into the kitchen and making some delicious cookies or cupcakes with them. This is a great activity to keep them away from digital devices. The process is fun and knowledgeable for the kids.
5. Ditch your Phones
Set a time in a day when you all should leave your phones and spend time with the family. You could play anything or just about how was everyone’s day. These family talks keep the kids close to their parents, make them more open about their life, and minimize the risk of excessive screen time. Such family meetings keep the family intact and keep everyone away from digital devices.
Last Words
We live in a digital world, and everyone is using digital ways to communicate. While the world has become a small place because of all the modern technologies, it has also caused a lot of distance. Everyone is so engaged on their phones that they don’t have time for anything else. To save your kids from the curse of excessive screen time, parents should take some action, so this article is their ultimate guide.
