There’s nothing as vivid in my memory as the evenings when me and all my siblings run to the roadside after hearing our father’s motorcycle on his return home from work. Jumping up and down in jubilation, We sung in chorus. “Daddy is back, mummy is back”. We lined up on the roadside and we momentarily escaped from all our other duties. Our parent’s came back to excited and happy children.
Let me pose a question. How is your reception when you come back home from work? How do your children and other family members react? Take a minute and reconstruct the moments of what happened yesterday evening. Are you happy with the way you are received?
Children today barely notice that you are back home. You will come home, carrying their most preferred ice cream flavour hoping that each one of them will come running to you but No! They are all glued on television watching their favourite cartoon or they will all be buried in their bedrooms playing games.
Children no longer have light chores. They are left to enjoy every single moment they have the way they like.
Internet is a basic need and access to it is a human right. Technology improves every day and gadgets are in plenty. We all know that a lot of good information is found on the net. Children get exposed to unlimited knowledge when they use it. On the other hand, a lot of adult info which is supposed to be censured is out there for these tender minds to consume.
It’s our duty as parents to avail these necessities as equally as we avail food but we must be very observant. Restrict Internet and gadgets use in your homes. TV should have a time frame in which they are allowed to watch it. Leave instructions and rules on use of the above.
To divert and keep them busy, involve them in outdoor activities. A lot of ball games, swimming, a visit to a friend’s home in the neighbourhood and a few skill training lessons are a great destruction. We love technology, we know the Internet is a great contributor to education but we must regulate it and supervise its usage.