Keeping Children Away from Phones with Juhi Saxena

The usage of mobile phones in kids has increased since the pandemic first hit. Kids now spend a lot of time on their screens, apart from just doing classes online. This increased screen time can be harmful to kids, even for their mental health.

Here we have Ms. Juhi Saxena, aka @mommyingwork, talking about keeping children away from phones.

Why do you think that kids should be kept away from mobile phones?

It’s not about mobiles only, we should try to avoid all types of screens, be it TV, video games, or anything else. When they watch any screen, they get hooked to these devices and they don’t get involved in physical activities

The WHO recommends that babies under 1 year should not be given screen time at all. And, babies who are above 1 can have only 1 hour of screen time, not more than that. Otherwise, their development gets delayed. They do not get involved in physical activities and they keep watching these screens only.

Check Out: Interview on 'Mindful Parenting' with Ankita Kothari

Do you think the over usage of phones can affect them both mentally and physically?

Definitely, everything gets affected. If they watch a lot of screens, they get disconnected socially. They become lazy because they don’t want to explore other things. They find screen time very interesting, so they don’t want to get involved in any other activity. So they just need their screens and they are good.

Many parents nowadays give the phone or play some YouTube videos to their 7-8 months old child to pass time. How does that affect the child?

I am strongly against this. It affects the kids very much. The radiation it generates is very harmful to such a small baby. It’s very harmful to them.

When we start very early, kids get more addicted. It becomes very hard to keep them away from phones then.

As a parent, what measures would you take to keep your kids away from the phone?

When I talk about taking measures, I believe it should be controlled from a very early age. Like, from day one, we should keep them away from these things. As a parent, it is our responsibility.

Kids do what they see. We are their role models at an early age.

What advice would you like to give other parents about it?

We have talked about the negative impacts and everything, but, in this digital era, we cannot totally keep them away. So I would say that even if you are giving screen time, make sure it is the interactive one. Make sure that you are showing them some productive content. This is what we should make sure of.

Avoid small devices. If you are giving them screen time, show it to them on the TV. So when they are watching TV, they can play, dance or do other such activities. Because when they are watching the mobile, they cannot do anything else.

Also Read: Role of Family Time in a Kid’s Development with Rucha Tembe