What to Do if Your Child Is Addicted to Screens?

Why do kids love watching TV so much? How to distract the child from the TV or computer screen? What could be more attractive for modern children than watching cartoons or TV shows? The answers to these and other similar questions are increasingly being sought by modern parents.

Signs of Addiction

If a child spends a lot of time at the screen, in the future addiction, to it quickly develops into a psychological addiction with all the signs of it: an obsessive desire to watch TV, tantrums when viewing is prohibited or limited, loss of other interests, disinhibition, inability to focus on any other task, increased fatigue, etc.

Screen-addicted children are constantly striving for a change of impressions; they need external stimulation, which they are used to receiving from the screen. Hearing does not evoke any images and stable impressions in such children, so they are not interested and bored to read and listen to adults.

One of the main reasons for sticking to the screen is the lack of more interesting and meaningful activities for the child. It has been observed that children who play well are usually not too dependent on the screen: they prefer games that are more active.

Teaching a child to play is one of the most important tasks of parents. Be sure to involve the child in household chores, spend more time on the street, collect models, etc. All this will give the child the opportunity to feel that in real life, there are a lot of interesting things.

How to Overcome Screen Addiction?

Use the following tips:

• Replace watching TV and video broadcasts with listening to audio recordings. Perception of stories and fairy tales by ears requires more inner activity from the child than the perception of the video sequence and, at the same time, does not require much effort.
• Discuss with your child in advance and choose when and what programs they will watch. At the same time, give preference to shorter video programs rather than animated series.
• Set unloading from the TV days with subsequent encouragement of the child. Be persistent; do not let your child turn on the screen by whining or tantrums.
• Try not to use the TV while eating to improve your baby's appetite.
• Watch interesting films with your child. After watching, return to what you saw, discuss your impressions, and play together with suitable toys for the plot of the film: repeat the characters' lines, reproduce their actions, etc.

Remember that if the TV or computer is constantly turned on in the background in your house, there is no way to solve the problem. So, check yourself for the same addiction.

Overcoming screen addiction requires time, effort, and imagination from parents. However, it is worth it! When a child learns to play, invent, and fantasize, they can independently organize their time, find interesting activities, and create their own imaginary world. This will be a powerful tool for the development and independence of the child.