If you read the leading newspapers, they will generally run a column on social welfare and health. I am an ardent reader of the news either online or the hardcopy.Apart from global news I stumble over these columns too. Some are really serious and others really crappy. I read about the tablets and iPads as the new drugs for adults and children. Nothing new these talks have been doing round ever since the advent of cyber age. But it starts hurting you when you realise the victims are none other than you and your family.

You are on a hormone high when you are having your first kid and you somehow transform into an idealistic parent. Getting the best gadgets and swearing by the most effective parenting norms. We too had done the same, we relinquished the television and computer. With time the modern parent is impatient and polarised in their thoughts. A wailing child looks better with a pacifier, a fidgety child looks stable with a tablet, an intelligent child learns more from the mobile-apps and most importantly your personal time is well-balanced with a non-intererring child. I don’t blame anything or anyone, as we have all been a part of this evolution. I’m a sure the stone age man carved a rattler too to soothe his offspring while the renaissance mom who sang songs and wrote lullabies, it’s all been a part of our dynamic evolution. I have done all the above but now I am bothered about the emerging technology and parenting friction in many homes.

As much as it is important to introduce children to technology it is more important to discipline its usage. This read will not be a preaching parent article but rather a self-experiment and its hypothesis.

Quoting from a leading newspaper “A small study in France found that letting the children aged 2-10 years play on the tablet prior to having a surgery was as effective at calming them as a sedative. Meanwhile, in New York, Dr Nicholas Kandaras, executive director of Dunes East Hampton rehab wrote that tablets and electronic devises had the same effect on children brains as Class A drugs and were even more addictive. ” Hmm!!

Now with christmas round the corner, I am sure tablets and iPads sales are going to increase. No harm with the brilliant idea but I’m sure a little key to disciplining the usage of tablets and other devices is more than welcome. First things first , it is very important to find the time you and your child spend on your device. Well if you thought it was going to revolve around your 3-year-old toddler then its highly miscalculated. The idea is successful by self-discipline first and then implemented on your child.

Putting a time cap is very essential. 

I am software engineer, run a blog and portfolio website. A lot of my day goes in learning new technologies and coding methodologies and while at other times its for public relations and social media promotions. But what I have started ensuring is that this time overlaps with my cherubs school time. Once I am at home with her, its her time not my work time. If I chat with my friends on whtsapp or tweet actively on twitter while my LO keeps bugging me for a mobile then it completely defeats the purpose. We try to make the devices invisible as much a possible. Though it seems bizarre but we clash our browsing time with our toilet visits. 🙂 Or when my H wants to work on the computer I keep her busy or vice versa. So we both pitch in to help each other.

A 1-2 hours of screen time with quality or fun content can be a very healthy practise.

Quality Content

I have recently seen even grandparents resort to a lot of mobile clips to entertain their grandchildren. But during our recent visit we saw a nice try from my parents too, my FIL showed her animal planet and explained her about the various animals. On the other hand my father introduced her to gardening and bug watching. There is a huge array of things which you can define as quality content on the internet or television.

Infants, I would say even watching fun cartoons with them for sometime and taking away some learning points is equally advisable. I ask her a few things after the show which relate to her topic vocabulary for the week. There are also various apps which are built around KS1 and KS2 mathematics and spelling bees. But don’t kill it by keeping it all educative, let them enjoy their dose of Peppa or Tom & Jerry as well as these learning apps.

I prefer free apps over purchased ones. I keep the online purchase on my personal laptop rather than on my mobile. I might seem a bit orthodox but I have seen children getting grounded for doing rampant purchases online. Thats not fair if you keep things easily accessible it is quite prone to misuse.

Safety 

Most of the children remember all the pass codes and connection to wifi is swift and easy at the click of a button. Parenting advises on blocking is simply not enough. There are a lot of tablets like leapfrog which have preloaded apps and games for children. I think which is much more preferable than a iPad or a tablet because youtube is just a click away and the content is completely unregulated. Pcadvisor.co.uk points out that iPads don’t have great parental controls.

Talking

I feel talking to children is a very effective way of making them know about things. I have used examples of children with glasses or children getting punished for watching so much of online content.

Occasionally, there are temper tantrums but using force or a loud voice is not always the answer. Talk to your children about electronic devices and the vices of internet. Explain to them that internet is not always a safe place to be. Recently when I found children talk about gory clowns roaming the streets for halloweens while killing/scaring people, I was aghast. I have spent quite sometime explaining to them that its unreal and there are good things in Halloween which you can do as well.

Let your child seek permission before doing things not just accessing internet. Asking is a very good habit.

Set your time limit for the screen time and stick to them.

Something which I used to do quite often when my DD was a baby,it was to let her watch Peppa while I feeded her. This has been time and again discouraged by the doctors. After a lot of practise we have a new rule, first we finish our meals before we see something on the internet.

The best way to offset the screen time is involving your child in varied activities. If its acute winters then playing board games or enacting a fashion show/rock show with your child at home to stimulate their minds a very good exercise. A high adrenaline environment also makes them avoid the medium.

Just to break the myth that I am a perfect mom, I have my serious set of struggles as I haven’t been able to help the restaurant viewing especially when we are out for dinners. She might indulge in a bit if eye spy or peppy talk but after a while she does ask for the mobile. At times I feel the need to unwind and talk to my hubby at a stretch over a relaxed lunch and I am really tempted to offer her the mobile on those instances. .

As I have told you before my DD enjoys cooking so I find various recipes which are easy to do with her. A classic apple pie also happens to be her favourite during windy autumn days. This time we have tried the a different version of the recipe which is loosely inspired from Jamie Oliver. So proud of chef, as he bagged another OFM 2016 award for the best food personality this year.This is a no hassle recipe and needs no extra preparation from beforehand. A little caution about the recipe if you are cooking a bigger portion then do it for a get-together otherwise go for the smaller pie dish if its only for family. As it is oozy and it does make the puff pastry a little soggy if stored for eating later

All the while we were baking we hummed to this together.Do you remember this english nursery rhyme. 🙂

Sing a Song of Sixpence

Sing a song of sixpence,

A pocket full of rye.

Four and twenty blackbirds,

Baked in a pie.

When the pie was opened,

The birds began to sing;

Wasn’t that a dainty dish,

To set before the king?

Ah, about the photography I continued to mix the ambient light with a trickle of sunlight. You will see the white balance change in the photographs because I mixed two sources of light. Though the golden rule for story telling is keep your white balance same across all your photographs.Word of my monk mentor. 🙂