How to keep toddlers away from gadgets?
Definitely the best way to keep the toddler away from gadget is to occupy them with something else. Easier said than done, this is the cry of every home. but who gave the gadgets to the hands of the kids first? You of course! So take the responsibility and clear the mess that you created by creating few other messes. Confused? Wait till we get to the point.
But before going into the points, the first thing that you make peace with is that it takes time to bring this change. Now with everyone occupied with Ramadan formalities, it might be a little difficult to impose the changes. So start small, move gradually (like once a week), then make it mandatory. For Ramadan, you can try to go gadget free just for a limited time, like post iftar to bed time to tv/mobile. & u can try to do that everyday till Eid.
For a regular time, the phase by phase stage would have been:
- Decide on a routine first. With toddler, its easier to put a routine than younger ones.
- Part 1 is to spell out the activities and approximate time for each, so when to wake up, brush, breakfast, shower, nap, play-time, balcony/outdoor time, lunch, dinner etc. can be defined with a certain limit, give & take 10-15 minute.
- 2nd part of routine is who does what with the kid. Because with working parents its not possible for them to do everything even if they are at home in lockdown. So responsibility should be divided among each of the parents, grandparents, house-helps with a bit of me-time here and there.
- With the current reality, we cannot keep the babies completely away from gadgets, but can teach them controlled use. First target one of the days to go gadget free. The final goal should be to have to use them gadgets once a week for max upto 4 hours. The first day should be a weekend when both or one of the parents can give enough time to keep the baby distracted. If the day goes well, then they can repeat the same the next day of the weekend, just to be repeated next week.
- It starts with you or else you cannot set the example. Would you believe someone who doesn’t practice what he preaches! For regular office days, put the mobile at a specified place with sound on (if there is a chance of any important phone call). For now, try to set a boundary with the management, e.g. no phone calls after 6pm! When we keep the phone in silent mode, we tend to check it every now & then .The benefit of keeping the sound on is, you remain tension free of missing any important phone calls & important office emails. For other apps, keep the notification off. Try to check the emails once in every half an hour (if possible) instead of sticking to it for the whole time. In this way, the baby learns the hard fact that his parents use gadgets mostly for important work.
