4 minutes 4 change

Internet revolution can lead to confusion

TECHNOLOGY has advanced by leaps and bounds. It’s hard not to get caught up in it, we all want to feel up-to-date and part and parcel of the latest invention. But when you are bringing up children or caring for them, you must stay focused on their development and maintain good parenting and caring skills.

When caring for the very young (1 -5 years old), remember they need your undivided attention. For instance, you can’t be reading a book to (or with) a child, but pausing every so often to scroll through your cell phone. If you do, it would be quite obvious to the child that your mind is elsewhere: and if ‘you’ can be so easily distracted, then why should the child pay full attention to what you are meant to be doing? Children learn through example.
Listening to gossip is another way that adults spend excess time on their cell phones, instead of parenting their children effectively. Adults who are caught up with their cell phones can easily miss some of the salient indicators that mean something is wrong with their child: they can also sever the lines of communication. Children cannot communicate freely if adults are constantly on their phones or scrolling through it. Older children might believe there is no point in explaining their problems to their parents at all. Cellular phones can be highly addictive; it is hard to imagine a time when we do not need them. But children must come first.

It is important to concentrate fully on what you are saying or doing with children. Caregivers (parents, day care workers etc.) can try turning off their phones sometimes, or put them out of the way so they won’t be tempted or distracted by them. Some adults spend so much time in the ‘virtual’ world that they lose the knack of communicating realistically with the children and people in the real World.

Sadly, a lot of children are also addictively tuned into the cyber world (e.g. computer and internet games etc.) which is a major distraction. Although parents may see this as a useful past time that works wonders at keeping children quiet, parents need to monitor the type of activities their children are into and pay heed to exactly what children are doing on line. Whether it is simply playing a game or using social media, parents need to know that whatever is taking place is child-appropriate.

Everything children do on their phones or on their computers should be above board and open to parental scrutiny, if need be. Although children have a right to privacy, they still need to be guided by their parents and because there are just as many bad things (and predators) as there are good things to be found on the internet, it is important for parents to monitor and advise.

A mother said, “I picked up my teenage daughter’s cell phone to make a call and she came running across the room to retrieve it. The girl was ‘in hysterics’ until I gave it back to her. This made me curious as to what could be on her phone that I, her mother, wasn’t allowed to see’. A father confided,” I do not understand this internet thing good, but my son, he is very clever, he is always on the computer, night and day, funny thing though, whenever I enter the room, he turns it off’. These are ‘red flags’, indications that a child might be up to inappropriate activities. It is a parent’s duty to set a good example where the internet and cellular phone use are concerned and monitor their children’s activities. Use technology wisely: discreetly balance the indoor use of all these devices with outdoor activities and by spending fun time with your children. Instead of embracing phones, tablets and Ipads, why not embrace each other and share family LOVE?

If you are concerned about the welfare of a child, ring the Childcare and Protection Agency Hotline on 227 0709 or write to us at childcaregy@gmail.com
A message from the Childcare and Protection Agency, Ministry of Social Protection
 

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