Today, it is difficult to imagine life without electronic gadgets. Today’s children are accustomed to using the phone from an early age because they are surrounded by computers, tablets, smartphones, e-readers, and other digital gadgets from birth. Almost everyone in the house has these devices; they simplify our lives and help save time. In many families, parents use gadgets to distract their children in order to do household chores. Undoubtedly, this is very convenient, but excessive use of digital devices can harm the child and, above all, his mental health.
Why is there a gadget addiction issue among children?
Firstly, the cause of children’s dependence on gadgets may be due to the fact that children are rarely under adult supervision. Most likely, the child is alone most of the time. Therefore, it is very significant for parents to know where their child is and what he is doing. But the reality is that parents don’t always have the time. It is much easier to give a child a tablet, or a smartphone, and turn on the TV so as not to be distracted from urgent matters than to spend more time with them. This happens in almost every family. And the consequences could be disastrous.
Everything about the negative influence of using gadgets
Gadgets have a positive impact as well. But it is worth focusing on what happens with excessive use, which can be perceived as an addiction. The consequences for children’s health vary between mental, physical, and emotional issues.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
ADHD is a psychiatric problem due to which children face some problems, namely:
- difficulty concentrating;
- excessive activity;
- inability to control behavior.
Many children experience similar difficulties, which undoubtedly causes anxiety, inability to concentrate, and easy distraction. These changes in behavior can cause problems at school, at home, or with peers.
Problems with learning
Children can learn a lot before they are five years old. But if they use gadgets too often, it affects learning badly. This can create barriers to the child’s normal progress, including communication and interaction skills. Also, with frequent use of a smartphone or tablet, a child may experience cognitive delays and have some learning difficulties. If you do not want to have issues with your child, remember that your presence in life is important for him.
Anxiety
Anxiety is one of the key issues to consider when setting the time limit on the app. If a child encounters this issue and the sign is excessive anxiety, nervousness, and shyness, then this is a signal that you need to limit the time you use your smartphone and other gadgets. Excessive aggression and tension are also obvious signs. Only with limited access to gadgets can you avoid issues.
Children’s depression
It is one of the most common and serious diseases that negatively affect the behavior of the child. On the way, he thinks and acts. Excessive use of gadgets leads to depression and issues with mental health at lids of a certain age. It can also be influenced by social media that glorifies a perfect life and a good physique, because of which children’s self-esteem and self-confidence explode.
It is worth noting that one in four kids suffers from smartphone-related depression. This conclusion was reached by British scientists who conducted a number of studies. Children also often feel anxious if their smartphone is not available and refuse other activities in order to spend time with the gadget.
The more often children use smartphones, the higher the indicators of childhood depression and stress grow, so the task of parents is to limit access to the gadget and reduce their use to a minimum.
Negative impact on the character
This is precisely the main problem in the world of technology. Kids use the Internet more frequently to view adult content than to find educational sites. Such practice negatively impacts the formation of their character.
Impact on physical health
In addition to concerns with mental health, children also evolve some physical health concerns. Below, you can find the main problems that children may encounter when using gadgets all the time:
Eyesight. One of the biggest health risks from the overuse of gadgets has to do with eyesight. Research has established that the incidence of myopia has increased over the past few decades. Another effect on the eyes was a reduction in the frequency of blinking, leading to frequent cases of dry eye syndrome. But with the best parental control app Kroha, you can protect your child from vision problems. For example, using the Night Mode feature, you can reduce the intensity of dangerous blue light that damages your eyesight. In addition, the program signals that the owner has brought the phone too close to the eyes, parents themselves can determine what distance is optimal. This is a unique feature of Kroha that other apps don’t have.
Hearing. Other negative consequences of excessive use of gadgets include hearing loss due to listening to loud music with headphones.
Posture. Children often sit hunched over and/or hunched over in front of the gadget. In this case, in the muscles of the back, neck, and shoulders, pain very soon appears. Too long and uncomfortable seats, and poor ergonomics – all this aggravates the issue.
Obesity. Gadgets can replace nannies, because they can captivate a child for a sufficiently long time. But it is worthwhile to understand that in the absence of physical activity, the child may be prone to obesity and the risks associated with this. Diabetes, heart attack, and stroke are also not excluded.
Weariness. When children spend too much time on gadgets, they become more vulnerable and prone to deplete not only mental skills but also physical ones. In case of inactivity, the child receives reduced blood circulation, as well as an increased load on muscles and joints. Because of this, children are more likely to feel tired, even if they do not resort to physical exercise. Also, with the constant use of gadgets, including smartphones, PCs, and tablets, there is a risk of increased stress levels. This, in turn, does not affect the heart, sleep, digestion or emotional balance of the child in the best way.
What to do with gadget addiction?
If you want to avoid the risks associated with the use of gadgets, the child should be constantly kept under parental supervision. This is the perfect option to keep things under control. But unfortunately, this is difficult to do. Firstly, this is not possible, since adults work most of the time, and when they return home, they often retire with their gadgets themselves. There are conditions that allow you to minimize the risks of evolving addiction to smartphones in children:
- Children under 4 should not be given any gadgets.
- Keep an eye on the sites that your children visit, blocking content in a timely manner will prevent most of the negative consequences.
- The child’s favorite programs should be watched constantly with him. Comment on what you see, discuss, teach not to trust advertising, and question the big news.
- Do not allow more than an hour of screen time per day for children 3 to 12 years old.
- Do not install a TV or computer in the children’s room.
- Don’t use gadgets while eating.
- Do a physical activity with your child: do exercises, and run in the morning.
- Set the exact time when to go to bed and strictly observe it. 2 hours before bedtime, the child should stop watching TV or using a smartphone.
Parents can take steps to keep their children free of addiction. But what if the child does not give in to the influence of parents? There is one solution in the form of a special app that allows you to control screen time and restrict access to inappropriate content, social networks, sites, and more.
Parental control “Kroha”: features of use
This software was created for caring parents who want to monitor their children not only in the real world but also in the virtual world in order to control the situation and ensure safety. Kroha helps:
- limit screen time;
- block potentially dangerous video content;
- avoid interruptions in the child’s schedule;
- monitor the movements of the child after school.
The “Kroha Parental Control” differs from its predecessors in that it provides users with the most thoughtful, effective product that can not only control children but also protect them even at a distance.
When creating this app, all types of dangers that may lie in waiting for a child were taken into account: from minor to serious, and this allowed us to provide functionality that protects children from all threats in the virtual world. By using all these features, parents are able to secure their child in the digital world and control everything that the child does on the Internet.
How can the Kroha app be useful?
Due to the fact that it is impossible to be near the child around the clock, it is necessary to set control remotely. This will prevent possible problems or solve them quickly. The Kroha app allows you to instantly respond to any danger that comes in the way of the child when using gadgets. Developmental issues are one such issue. With this monitoring app you can:
- limit time of using gadgets by setting limits on screen time via kids mode;
- set web control for individual sites that have invalid content;
- safe kids mental and physical health;
- receive information about using apps;
- if necessary, block games and apps completely.
With family protection, you can relieve the strain that a child is subjected to when using smartphones or tablets all the time.
Are you worried about inappropriate content and suspicious contacts?
Kroha allows you to use a child filter to protect your child from harmful information by setting a ban on visiting unwanted sites through a manual block. The blocker also allows you to close access to individual videos or channels and create a safe Google search.
It is also worth recalling that teenagers are not only addicted to the Internet, but very often they make suspicious contacts, communication with which can cause certain problems. Therefore, in addition, parents can use the following Kroha features:
- Keep track of changes in the child’s phone book.
- Remove suspicious contacts.
- Carry out family monitoring of 13 popular app messengers – this function is unique and only available in Kroha.
- Access the latest SMS messages and call history in real time.
- View photos received or taken by the child.
- Set up a parent block on untrusted social networks.
Use an electronic assistant for parents
“Kroha” is the best app for parents, with which they can control the time they use their phone. But the functions of the program do not end there. Also, with Kroha, you get access to statistics on the use of the gadget, and to applications to get an idea of what the children’s preferences are. It is worth noting that the child will not be able to remove the program from his device.
To reduce the time you use your smartphone or other gadgets, you can set a screen time limit. This will help to bring up discipline and do everything so that the child does not experience problems with health, communication, and learning.
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