I was totally shaken to read that a seven-year-old girl died after setting herself on fire while trying to enact a scene from a TV show. Her mother had revealed that the kid was hooked to the show and would watch it regularly. According to her, the little girl had taken some waste papers and set it on fire and tried to dance in the middle of it, just imitating a scene from the TV show. Her clothes got fire and she was set ablaze. It is extremely unfortunate that this beautiful little girl lost her life in such a terrible manner.
Now, should we say stop all the serials or those mad reality shows first? Or never allow kids to watch TV or use a gadget? It’s a major lesson for the adults here. Let it be a TV or a gadget; a Kid on its own will never learn to hook on to a show or a game. In the first place, it must have been the parents or guardians who would have introduced it to them. I know most of the times it’s much easier for the parents to give them some screentime so that we can peacefully do some households or get some relaxing time. What kind of shows can they watch and for how long, are the ones to be noted. Give them some good and age-appropriate content. Be aware of what your children are watching. Kids really don’t have to look at those horrible serials or action movies or those romantic songs and imitate them. Stop them right away and tell them it’s a bad move and not everything that comes up in a movie or TV can be mocked.
We can give them a guilt-free screentime if we have some ground rules of WHEN, HOW MUCH & WHAT CONTENT. Most of the times we would have heard “No screen time (TV, tablet, phone, computer) until 2 years”. I have personally experienced the adverse effects of that. Being at a foreign land, taking care of our little one all alone was not that easy, I was in need of some breathing time and I started allowing him to watch rhymes and non-violent animated series even before he turned 1. Not too much though, we did have our own share of troubles in terms of his food habits, sleeping patterns and speech delays. And it took months and years for us to get things right. Now I totally believe its better to keep them away from the TV and those gadgets atleast until 18 months, as the first couple of years are very crucial for the child’s brain development. Preschoolers can have not more than 1 hour of screen time throughout the day, is what the recommendation says. And for kids and teens, it's better to restrict it to be 2 hours per day and not more than 30-45 mins at a single stretch.
Take a stand on What they can watch? Any non-violent, non-abusive content in moderation should be okay. We can teach them which is a good show and which is not, just like we teach them on good and bad touch or good and bad manners. We can explain why it is not meant for them, talking to your child always works well.
Let them stay away from those commercials. Kids under 7 really can’t distinguish much between make-believe and reality which makes them vulnerable to advertising. At all times, keep insisting that, let it be an advertisement or a cartoon show or a movie, whatever they see doesn’t have to be replicated in a real time. Never keep the TV On as a background (at least when the child is around), when you are busy in the kitchen or doing laundry because that will only draw the child’s attention. Once their screen time is over, it's better to turn off the TV and the put the remote away. Set TV/screen time rules for weekdays and weekends and stick to them. That will prevent them spending too much time on it.
Be a guide and role model for your children. By setting healthy limits on screen time and knowing what your child is watching and playing, you can help make the most of your child's media use.
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