How to save a child from gadget addiction: advice from a psychologist

Often moms and dads take the topic of gadgets in children’s lives as a reproach. After all, gadgets for them are a great way to relax in silence or just have a quiet lunch at a restaurant. And the counterargument usually sounds like “now the whole world is from gadgets, and I don’t want my child to be behind the times.” But in frank conversations with a psychologist, they admit that it is just convenient.

We asked psychologist Larisa Surkova where the legs grow from this problem and what parents should do.

Sometimes you can see a tablet attached to a stroller with a 6-8 month old baby. What is harmful?

Any pediatrician, ophthalmologist and neurologist will unanimously tell you that using gadgets without control or at a too early age leads to an overload of the nervous system; the formation of addiction (which means that the area of ​​the brain responsible for pleasure will be constantly irritated); decreased vision and increased irritability in the absence of a gadget at hand.

According to psychologist Larisa Surkova, it is useless and pointless to argue with such parents. The fact is that, firstly, they themselves are already dependent on their tablets and smartphones, and secondly, they are simply comfortable with this state of affairs.

1. The first step towards education problems is made by mom and dad, who themselves spend a lot of time with a phone, tablet or in front of a computer. It’s no secret that a child learns the world through his parents. If adults do this, then it’s the right thing to do.

2. It is a big mistake to have illusions about the need for such devices at an early age. “But in a year he knows how to collect jigsaw puzzles on a tablet,” the parents, gadget lovers, boast. Of course, but only if you give him a real puzzle, he will not assemble it, because the brain perceives a computer image as a picture. This does not develop a child at an early age (up to 6-7 years).

3. Addiction in children forms 10 times faster than in adults. But treating it is 10 times more difficult and sometimes longer.

4. Children have a very severe stage of rejection. It is no coincidence that more and more cases of a child attacking his parents with a knife after they took the computer away from him are emerging in the news more and more often.

5. You give a gadget and create the illusion of a good relationship. After all, begging for a tablet, he is ready for anything and “loves” you so much. But what happens when you pick up a gadget? Think about it.

So, the main thing to remember. Before school, you can definitely do without a gadget, and believe me, a child will not feel himself flawed in kindergarten. And in general, the rule “the later, the better” works in this case with a bang.

There are also exceptions. These are situations where a gadget will save a large number of people around you. For example, if you have a very long plane flight. Of course, you can also come up with a hundred different entertainments there, but still, in the name of passengers and mom, you can captivate a child with a tablet for a short time.

First, let’s take into account the age and start to allocate limited time for “communication” with the gadget:

✔ children under three years old – ideally 0 minutes a day on TV and exactly 0 minutes on a tablet / phone;

✔ children 3-5 years old – 20 minutes of TV, but it is still better to do without a gadget;

✔ children 5-7 years old – 30 minutes of TV or 10 minutes of a gadget (preferably without it);

✔ children 7-9 years old – total time 40 minutes a day for all equipment;

✔ adolescents 9-14 years old – a total of 60 minutes a day for all equipment;

✔ teenagers over 14 years old – try to negotiate, but no more than 90 minutes a day.

1. If you are not against communication of a child with gadgets, then at least strictly limit the time. Set your alarm according to age guidelines. So, the “enemy” will not be you, but the ringing alarm clock.

2. Do not give a gadget to a child at least three years old!

3. Load your child with activities – sports, arts, travel and other hobbies.

4. Do not take your tablet with you when going to a cafe, on a visit or for a walk in the park. The child should be able to rest differently than behind the screen. Remember: it is his imaginative thinking that is actively developed now, which means that new pictures are very important to him. It is they who develop him and excite his imagination!

5. Do not turn communication with the gadget into a way to praise and reward the child: got an A – go play! Positive feedback must come from the person.

6. To get rid of the technique, it must be broken (not literally, but by showing the child that the gadget does not work). And this means that no one is playing in the house. The most extreme way, but it works for any age.