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Dawn of digital age parenting

From education to entertainment and socialization, children are nowadays spending most of their time in front of a digital screen

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DQINDIA Online
New Update
Digital

Post pandemic the world is different! Everything has changed from our socio-cultural tech norms to work, entertainment, socialization, education, and even parenting. With schools closed and education shifting to an online mechanism, parents have had to adopt a more hands-on approach to parenting and take on the challenges that come with it. Being online has become the new normal and as a result, the screen time consumption of kids has increased multifold. From school classes and education to entertainment and socialization, children are nowadays spending most of their time in front of a digital screen. And you can’t even blame them after all the digital age has enforced these changes in our lives in such a way that all we can do is accept them.

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Who would have thought the pandemic would leave such a long-lasting effect?

At this moment, take a step back and question, why? Yes, over-usage is a problem, but even adopting a generic approach usually does not solve it for the child. While raising them we constantly have these urges to check on where they are, what they're doing, and most importantly how do we limit their gadget usage? What we as a parent need to do is observe what negative effects the usage of technology is having on our children instead of limiting it outright. Taking a proactive approach should be the way to go in such situations. Instead of saying no or forcefully limiting screen time, a better way is to try and curate the child's online experience with age & culturally appropriate content. Do it as you would in the offline world, if you were to encourage your child to play basketball, you would get them a basketball, take them to a hoop & start playing.

The same applies to the online world. You should always engage with the content/game/app yourself first before introducing it to the child. Popular online platforms such as the Apple app store and Google play store also provide age guidance tools, which can be used to find engaging content that is appropriate for the child’s age. 

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Technology is all around us and our children are going to be influenced by it, one way or another. The key here is for parents and mentors to encourage healthy practices when it comes to the internet and digital media. By indulging in conversations and building confidence in children, parents can make sure that digital media is used as a means of interaction and not isolation. They must also strive to create a safe and judgment-free space where children can freely talk about their online experiences without feeling guilty or ashamed. Using these healthy practices, parenting in the digital age can be much more efficient and much less daunting.

Another key aspect for parents is to overcome their fear of technology. Most modern technology can sometimes seem alien and daunting, but parents should research and understand it before providing it to their children. They must also try to regulate screen time and place some degree of parental control on the kind of content their children have access to. Most tech platforms today that are meant for kids offer parental controls to some extent, so take your time and explore them. Furthermore, children should also be made aware of the repercussions of excessive digital media usage. 

By evolving our parenting styles, we can raise our children in a way that is suitable to the current environment, oversee their lives better and easily protect them from over-exposure. The future of our children is getting increasingly dependent upon their healthy relationship with technology. Therefore we as parents need to ensure this relationship remains healthy and that they have a guided path into cyberspace…and don’t worry, it’s easy once you get used to it!

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The article has been written by Amitabh Kumar, Co-founder, Wranga

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