A viral quote says technology keeps you closer to people physically far and far from people physically close. Ours have become a world of technology, what with the ability to do almost everything swiftly with its help. Now, while this has many advantages, those same advantages; if not deliberately curtailed when necessary- especially when it has to do with children- may turn around to bite.
In a post on Pagingfunmums, one mum pens down how she taught her son screen time accountability.
She writes: I have found out that children do more of what they see their parents doing, than more what their parents tell them to do.
Our recent reality is that an average home possesses at least five devices per time. Shocked?! Why don’t you count how many you’ve got in your own home. Yes! Go ahead and count.
My son is of the ‘Minecraft‘ and ‘Terraria‘ phase and he just LOVES them. He talks about them at school with his friends, watches YouTube tutorials and genuinely enjoys them. I am ok with that…however, I do believe that screen time should not only be limited but in my opinion, should be earned. I started to get annoyed with him coming home from school and the iPad be his first point of call for entertainment. We’ve always got Playdough, Silly Putty, Colouring Books, Toys and plenty of other things to amuse him in the house. I finally decided to do something about it.
I made these paddlepop sticks and when he completes a chore, he can have his device for the amount of time that is allotted to that chore!
Both of my kids now WANT to do chores! It helps me immensely and the kids are enjoying it because they know they are going to ‘earn something’ in return. It’s a win/win!
To make your own, simply purchase some large Paddlepop sticks from your local Craft Store, get yourself a permanent marker and write down some chores you’d like your kids to do and allot some time.
