The era of gadgets: how the approach to bringing up children has changed

Modern children are the first generation that does not know the world without cable television and the Internet. They live surrounded by gadgets from birth, get their first phone almost before they go to school, and sometimes understand digital technologies better than elder family members.

Meanwhile, parents frantically try to build the right strategy for the child’s interaction with electronic assistants, so that, on the one hand, not to deprive him of the benefits of progress, and on the other, ensure the protection of children from the dangers that it is fraught with.

Why is a screen limit necessary?

Screens are a reality of our lives. It is unrealistic for a modern person to spend a day without checking their mobile phone many times, sitting in front of a laptop or relaxing on the couch with a tablet in the evening.

Wealthy family or not, it has two or three electronic devices. We know that they should be used in moderation. Who in childhood did not hear: “You will ruin your eyes!” or “Better go for a walk!” from moms and dads who tried to limit the time we spent on TV or game consoles? And yet, as adults and out of parental control, we lightly brush aside medical advice to monitor screen time.

Meanwhile, protecting the family, and especially children, from the harmful effects of gadgets is necessary. And not only because the blue light of the screen destroys the photoreceptors of the retina and provokes insomnia, especially if you use the gadget in bed in the evenings, which often happens if you do not control kids. These are almost common knowledge today.

And not because the habit of leaning close to the screen makes the eyes strain and has a bad effect on the spine. This is also no secret: back in the last century, any guide for parents on bringing up a healthy child recommended that you monitor the distance between the child’s eyes and a book or TV.

Much more alarming are the findings of the study conducted by specialists from the Cincinnati Medical Center, who claim that being in front of a laptop-tablet-phone without a clear control of time inhibits the formation of white brain matter of babies, provoking a delay in their development.

And if the guardian parent does not take care to limit screen time for children 8-12 years old, they begin to lose the effectiveness of already established connections between different areas of the hemispheres.

Even teenagers are not immune to problems, one of which is smartphone addiction. Such children spend a lot of time on the Internet, spend whole hours on entertainment applications and social networks, and when elder family members try to monitor the child, preventing him from surfing the Internet, they show aggression.

There’s more to consider beyond screen time alone as a potential concern. Do not forget about the flows of information that generously pour from them to the child! And if you can set the kids mode on the TV, and the parental block on the computer, then the children’s phone is a special matter.

It is usually hidden from the strict parental eye, so it is difficult to exercise control over children. And if in real life the family protects the child from negativity, then a smartphone with the Internet access is able to show him shocking, frightening or simply age-appropriate content at any time.

You can advise your child to watch YouTube Kids instead of regular YouTube (and not the fact that they will obey you), but organizing a cozy kids place on the Web without cruelty, negativity and 18+ materials is very difficult.

And how to protect children from trolls, scammers and maniacs who can hide behind the avatar of the same teenager, luring candid photos, personal information from the child and directly threatening the child security?

Why blocking gadgets from children is not a way out?

We hope this information hasn’t been too alarming. Because, although all of the listed risks do exist, in reality everything is not so scary if you approach the problem wisely and master the safe control of electronic devices.

The reality is that the child who is cut off by parental locks from digital technologies or uses them only under strict family control has little chance of finding himself in the modern world:

• He needs to be able to search for the right information in order to get a good education.
• Computer fluency is an indispensable condition for obtaining almost any prestigious position.
• Even clashes with trolls, according to psychologists, temper character and prepare a teenager for adulthood.

In addition, the smartphone allows you to always stay aware of the location of the kid. Just press the speed dial button and your son or daughter will tell you where they are and how soon they will be home.

So the legendary “screen” is neither a friend nor an enemy. It is simply a mechanism that can be used to good use, if all dangers are considered and prevented.

How to make the “screen” your ally: a parental guide?

Reasonable, limited use of gadgets will benefit the development of the child. And you, as a parent, are able to instill in him the right habits, so that over time, the need to monitor children disappears by itself.

It’s okay for children to enjoy some screen time with cartoons or games on devices. Discuss with him the rules for limiting the app time – for example, no more than 1 hour per day – and follow this agreement.

At the same time, encourage your child to use educational apps that help him develop and learn, as well as those that promote physical activity: fitness apps, yoga apps, dance apps. Try to get your child interested in them.

Explain the need to be careful when interacting with new virtual friends. You should not intimidate a teenager, but it is necessary to tell him why excessive gullibility can threaten his life and health, as well as the safety of his family.

Set a ban on gadgets during meals, communication with family and before bed. Organize your child’s leisure time so that he has something to do besides the phone.

The last question remains. How to do all this in conditions of total employment of parents? The answer is simpler than it seems to be: get yourself an app for monitoring children and get a smart assistant who, like a faithful guard of a kid, will be next to him 24 hours a day, protecting him from cyber dangers and threats of the real world. One of the best safe kids apps is Kroha.

How does the Kroha app help in bringing up a child?

Parental Control Kroha is the best mobile app for users control, designed specifically to regulate children’s relationship with electronic devices, allow parents to stay informed about their child’s life events, and ensure their safety in the real and virtual world.

Kroha relieves parents of many problems:

• Wanna know where your son or daughter is? At any time of the day or night, the “Location” function will show you the location of the children on the map. In addition, using the parent tracker, you can set geofences that are safe for the child and receive a message if he suddenly crosses their borders.
• Concerned about who your teenager spends time with? Family monitoring gives access to photos taken or received by the child on the phone, allows you to control 11 popular messengers, call history, SMS, and also shows changes in the contact list and makes it possible to correct it.
• Do you need to take control of the smartphone’s screen time? Application statistics for the day or week will tell you what the child is doing on the phone, and the blocking function will limit the app time to reasonable limits or not allow the teenager to use them at all.
• Are you afraid of inappropriate content? The Web Control function will show the history of the sites visited by the child and prohibit visits to those that parents consider harmful or dangerous. In addition, you can use the child blocker to block certain YouTube videos or channels.
• Are you left wondering if your child’s eyesight is being impaired by screen time? Night mode will protect eyes from blue light, and the function “Eye Protection” – a unique feature that other kid control applications do not have – will warn the children with a pop-up window when the distance between their eyes and the screen is not correct.
• Are you afraid that your child will be on the phone instead of studying? The family monitor will open the News Feed for you, showing all the actions of the child on the smartphone in chronological order, and the Lock will remotely turn off the phone for the period you measured or until the connection command.
• Does the teenager keeps forgetting to charge smartphone? The family control application itself will monitor the level of charge and traffic. You can completely trust it.

How to install the Kroha children monitoring app?

The official website of Kroha app provides complete information about the application, which will answer all the questions that a parent who is concerned about the safety of their children may have.