How To Keep Your Toddler Away From Mobile Phone?

Keeping your toddlers away from your mobile phone is proving to be a daunting task, as the withdrawal symptoms include banishment of food and irrational temper tantrums. Do you agree as parents? Yes! But do you know that somewhere you are the reason for your toddler's addiction to smart phones.

Curious to know how you are the reason for your toddler's addiction to mobile! Well, picture this – from the moment your baby was born you start playing rhymes on your phone to distract him or her. And so by the time he or she grows up, he or she is addicted to the bright colours of the rhymes and poems that your toddler refuses to eat without watching the rhyme on the phone. This is mobile addiction in toddlers.

Why Is Smart Phone Not Good For Your Toddlers?

Considering the digital age we are living in, it is at times difficult to separate the toddler from the gadgets, however, before you give in to your toddler's demands for smart phones here three important facts that you need to know.

1. Smart phone affects brain development: It is scientifically proven that smart phone affects the brain development by slowing the growth and interfering with the other stimulations that the brain requires to develop in toddlers. In certain cases excessive use of smart phone also causes cognitive delays
2. Obesity: When your toddler is either watching rhymes on the phone or playing games (which do happens eventually) he or she is not indulging in outside play resulting in lack of physical exercise and sedentary lifestyle leading to obesity in toddlers
3. Delay in social development: Playing on smart phones or tablets also result in delay of social skills as the toddler is always busy on the gadgets and doesn't talk much

So how can you ensure that your toddler doesn't get addicted? Well read on.

What To Do To Ensure That Your Toddler Is Not Addicted To Smart Phone?

While there are numerous things you can do to ensure that your toddler doesn't get addicted, here I am listing few of them that I have tried and tested.

• Avoid using mobile phone in front of your toddler: It is you parents who are responsible to introduce phones and other gadgets to your toddler, so if your toddler is seeking attention give it to him or her and don't hand over the phone so that you can work. This is how your child becomes addicted and knows that whenever he or she throws tantrums he gets a mobile phone
• Instead of video play the audio of rhymes: Instead of showing the videos of rhymes you can buy the Audio CDs and play them to your toddler. This way he or she will not get distracted by the bright colours and will also enjoy the rhymes playing in the background as they go on doing whatever they want to do. The other way is for mommy or papa to sing poems and rhymes to the baby
• Give more time to your toddler: Parents should give enough time to baby instead of mobile. Instead of playing with mobile phone you should play with your toddlers, talk to them, take them out to nature walk and let them explore the environment. This is the best time to create a strong parent-child bond with your toddler, wherein you can introduce good habits & manners as well to your toddler. Think about the times when there were no mobiles how did the children grow up then?
• Seek help from other members: If you are in joint family, take advantage of it and seek help from other members of the family to keep your child engaged in talks, and play rather than handing out the mobile phone or the tablets to your toddler. However, if you are in a nuclear family as is the case nowadays then you should give more time to your toddler take him or her out in the evenings let them interact with other children as this will broaden their horizon
• Stash away all the mobiles: Keep all mobiles of family members far away from baby/ toddler in one place where he or she can't reach. I know at times you need to attend the mobile so do it discreetly and then keep it back where you have decided to stash all the mobiles. In case if your toddler sees you working on the mobile tell him or her that it is an urgent office work and you will keep it back after the work
• Be a good role model: Remember that your child will learn from what he or she sees you doing so if you are practicing what you are preaching chances are that your toddler will get the message fast and he or she will also not get addicted to the phone or any other gadget for that matter

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