A household with 3 kids can be such a noisy one especially if the kids are shouting around and playing around the house. I’ve learned early on that giving the kids something to do can make a house quiet – for a few blissful minutes, that is. Still, I’d appreciate every minute of silence so the hubby and I allow the kids to enjoy their favorite toys. Our big boy surely knows how to pick favorites – a tablet, of course! He loves his Transformers, mind you, but what kid doesn’t love a gadget? Sigh.
I’ve read a number of articles where parents are having a hard time parting their kids with their gadgets. There are even some kids who experience some developmental problems because of prolonged gadget use! Uh oh! I don’t want my kiddos to stay glued on the screen and not interact with real people.
So, I made some guidelines for our son to limit his use of gadgets. Did I also mention that the princess shows inclination to enjoy gadgets at her young age, too? Well, even my 1-year-old angel gives me a big smile if he wants to use the tablet! Ah! Moms of this day and age do have lots of things to consider, yes?
Anyway, I’d like to share with you the guidelines I made for our son (also applies to the little girl).
Study first.
I’m not the type to nag my son to do homework or sit down for hours just to help him do it. I let him study on his own and simply check his work afterwards. He can only use the tab after doing his homework plus 30 minutes of extra studying.
1 hour use on school nights.
For nights preceding a school day, he’s not allowed to go beyond 1 hour. For other days, he’s allowed to use the tab for 2 hours.
Use tab only in the family area.
It’s crazy what kids can possibly access on the web these days – God forbid he accidentally discovers porn! To monitor his activities, the tab is only for use in the family area. No bringing it in the room.
Ask permission before downloading anything.
It’s hard to place parental controls on tabs (alright, I confess we don’t know how to do it) but we’ve asked our son to ask permission before downloading anything.
Social etiquette, no bullying, and other rules…
No matter how hard we try, we really can’t rule over every minute of our children’s use of the gadget. So, we teach him various rules on social etiquette from time to time. Bullying is a big problem on the web these days so we also talk to him about it – to help make sure that he won’t be a bully or won’t be a victim of bullying.
So, how about you? Do you also set rules for your kids regarding gadget use? Do share with us.
Image Credit : ODC Technology
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