These days Children will rather spend long hours watching screens than engaging in green time activities. The use of mobile applications for a long period of time has become rampant in the lives of children today. In the forthcoming paragraphs, this essay will discuss why this issue has become excessive and also measures parents can take in other to reduce this excessive usage.
I believe the excessive increase of the use of mobile applications by children is as a result of various factors. Due to entertainment consumption, most youths tend to spend more time on their mobile applications. For example, a lot of games have been developed, youths spend a lot of hours playing these games to be at a high ranked level and also to discuss it with their friends and be up to date with the latest trends. In the world today, these mobile applications are easily accessible to the general public. For example, an individual can place an order for a mobile device online to be delivered to their house, there is no longer any need to spend time or resources commuting to physical stores to acquire these devices. Also, in households where guardians have to work long hours, kids are left with little to no supervision and these guardians enable their kids to use these mobile gadgets in other to keep them busy and also to bridge the gap that their absence creates. For example, guardians that work 12 hours shift in 24 hours will obtain mobile applications for their kids so they can be occupied before they return home. With the modernization of the world and the advancement in technology, educational facilities have adopted online learning materials, which is an enabler of the excessive use of mobile applications. Educational policies like online learning encourage children to use mobile applications. For instance, a biology teacher in a secondary school will provide the subject outline and topics in a soft copy PDF format and schedule classes using online platforms like zoom, this in turn enables youths to actively use mobile devices in order to access the subject materials. It is clear that there is an excessive use of mobile applications by children and these factors show why this is so.
When parents have a clear understanding of why children spend long hours on mobile applications they can then understand how to reduce these hours. There are various ways in which parents can avoid this excessive usage by their offspring. The use of hard copy learning materials should be encouraged. Dads and Mums should encourage their wards educational facilities to make it a habit of encouraging children to read physical books by using hard copy books and promoting physical learning. For instance, during my primary school days, my school conducted a parents forum where issues were raised and solved, the issue of long screen hours was raised, as a result of this, the school adopted a strict paperback model of learning. Mothers and fathers can also make it a duty to spend time reading these books to their youngsters. Green time hobbies should be encouraged. Mothers and fathers should make it a duty of taking their youngsters to parks and recreational centers regularly, where learning new things occurs. For example young ones can spend time in fun parks indulging in fun activities. Family time should also be incorporated by mothers and fathers. Bonding activities like cooking, baking, singing, etc tend to bring members of family together. Evidence shows that, families that engage in cooking activities together strengthens their bond and this further reduces usage of mobile application by children. By incorporating these ideas, a reduction in the use of mobile applications will be evident in young ones.
The world is advancing and the use of mobile applications is being encouraged by this technological advancement. This essay has discussed why the excessive use of mobile applications has become a habit among children today and ways in which their parents can curb this situation. In as much as a lot of factors encourage the use of mobile applications amongst children today, parents can find a balance between this habit.