Balanced approach must: Doc

Most parents appear to be clueless about how to wean away their kids from their obsession of gadgets. Some of them become too strict with their children whereas others just give in to their demands.

According to experts, both extremes are unadvisable.

Too much strictness would mean children would use the gadgets like cellphones, laptops, tablet etc. in a stealthy manner.

Giving in to their demands would again mean inviting health and psychological problems for children, albeit at a later stage in their life. What’s the solution, then?

Well, it lies in reasoning out with your child about the ill-effects of frequently using the gadgets, say experts.

“The ill-effects of children’s over-dependence on gadgets may not appear instantly, but the impact might manifests among children at a later stage, which might be more psychological than physical”, says, Dr Ashok Reddy, a psychiatrist.

He also warns against the parents’ habit of ignoring their children’s small queries.

“The lack of response from the parent in terms of answering a query, satisfying a question or paying the right amount of attention to the child results in children being dependent on gadgets,” Dr Reddy says.

Dr Ashok Reddy, however, offers the parents five important tips so as to reduce their children’s growing depen-dence on gadgets.