Children's addiction to gadgets
Today, I'll share my perspective on how to protect your child from gadgets and what to do if you've already introduced them to them. While preventing electronic device addiction is quite feasible with parental diligence, treating it is an extremely difficult task, and only the most motivated and persistent parents can handle it!
When researching information online from psychologists on the topic of children's gadget addiction, I often find quite contradictory information. Much advice often proves ineffective in real life.
Furthermore, I want to emphasize one important point: a child's gadget addiction should be viewed as an ADDICTION!
In other words, this condition is a manifestation of a specific mental disorder in the child, which can often only be addressed through specific psychotherapeutic interventions. In this situation, simple advice is often simply ineffective.
There are a number of scientific studies in which neuroscientists compare the appeal of computer games and internet surfing to drug addiction. When a child sees their favorite game on a gadget's screen, their brain reacts similarly to a drug addict's brain in anticipation of taking a drug, releasing the pleasure hormone dopamine!
By constantly playing computer games, a child's brain becomes accustomed to the constant release of neurotransmitters responsible for pleasure, which in turn contributes to addiction not only on a psychological but also a biological level. And now, as some psychologists advise, try taking a child's toy away from them! It's pointless! Apart from causing psychological trauma to the child and themselves, parents will achieve nothing!
Giving advice in such a situation is extremely difficult. Essentially, it requires targeted, psychotherapeutic work for the entire family. Nevertheless, I'll try to outline the main areas of parental effort to address this issue. The first thing I'd like to start with is yourself! Give up your own addiction to gadgets!
I'm sure this will free up time for your children. Many might object, "But what can we do? We receive a ton of information we need for work!" In this case, especially in the current challenging coronavirus situation, when many continue to work remotely, stop wandering around the apartment with your smartphone! Install the necessary programs, messengers, and everything else you need on your PC. Let your child know that you're not just playing around, but actually working.
A few more words about neurobiology. Let's remember oxytocin, sometimes called the "bond hormone." This hormone plays a role in the formation of the mother-child bond after birth. The more often a mother interacts with her baby—caresses, supports, and hugs them—the more oxytocin is produced.
Incidentally, the same goes for the mother! This promotes the development of a secure attachment. (I wrote about this in the article "Raising Children: Attachment Types.") In other words, the full realization of a child's basic emotional needs, including love, affection, care, and so on, will significantly determine the baby's future.
Until 3-4 years old, protect your child from gadgets, television, and other sources of interactive information by any means necessary. Give their neural networks the opportunity to develop properly. I repeat: If addiction has developed, carefully, without drastic changes, distract your child from gadgets. Give them your full attention. Engage their free time with games, shared hobbies, sports, clubs, and other activities.
