As a young girl some years ago, I never knew what a phone was used for other than to make calls. This was in the early 2000s when I was still a small girl. The only thing we were exposed to was playing outside with our friends using stones and sand. It was always a fun moment that the use of phones never crossed our minds. Our parents took their phones out of reach from us because they were afraid we might damage them in the bid of wanting to know what was behind those sounds (ringtones).
I was allowed the use of a phone when I finished secondary school and at the age of 15 years, and it was to receive calls whenever mom wanted to speak with me when she was away on business trips or whenever she travelled and needed to know what was going on with my siblings and the house in general. At those times, the only thing I knew about phones was to play games, scroll through contacts and listen to different ringtones.
Another experience was with my aunt’s kids when they were still very little. Their mom got them this iPad tablet to use at home, and she was always monitoring them on how it was used so as not to take much of their time in studying when it was time.
Whenever we visited, I would watch how these two little kids would operate the iPads and most times, they played smart games on it and all I did was just stare at them and how they had learnt some simple tricks about technology on their phones and, of course, with their parents cautioning them on their usage.
In today's world, we see kids using smartphones given to them by their parents and while some of them are being monitored and limited on how and when to use it, other parents wouldn’t mind but settle that they are having fun and also a way of not disturbing them in their affairs with their businesses or work.
So because of this, most of these children aren’t concerned anymore as they are allowed to do anything on their phones, knowing their parents won’t see what they are doing, not to talk of cautioning them.
This is where you see many of them hiding their activities away from their parents, and if asked what they are doing, they say nothing. Such parents won’t even think of taking the phone to know what’s up with what they are feeding their eyes with, so they are left alone to continue.
At the end of the day, they become addicted to using smartphones that any mistake of seizing it from them, they become something else and start getting rude to their parents.
This is one of the effects of what they watch, which they are now copying and trying to imitate those characters in real life, and once asked, they say they are trying to act out a character.
It is only an observant parent who would definitely know something is wrong and would take immediate steps to stop them from such acts, while other parents who don’t mind would leave them till they become a nuisance to themselves, at home and in society.
Allowing smartphones for children isn’t a bad thing but it all boils down to parental guidance and when to take it from them so as to get engaged in other educational activities. Some kids would be allowed smartphones and would be limited to their usage daily, while other kids would be allowed to use them as long as they want. It all depends on the kind of parenting styles they receive.
And the truth is, these smartphones are also a good thing for them to keep them busy with, recognize what they are good at and make use of it in the best way but when kids are allowed to use smartphones without monitoring, they tend to misuse the devices which cause disastrous consequences to them later in the future.
There are fun and educational activities that can be installed by parents which children would learn from and help their brains to think intelligently, and this is the responsibility of parents instead of leaving them and allowing them to watch different stuff, including things that aren’t appropriate for their age.
This is what kills a child when they aren’t controlled or given limits on when and how they use their smartphones, either at home or when they take them to school.
A good kid who is trained well and monitored would understand the usefulness of a smartphone even in the absence of his parents than a child who is given the free will to do whatever they wants to do without the proper supervision that even out of reach of his parents, he begins to do unnecessary things with smartphones which shouldn’t be.
