‘Some people cannot sleep because they have insomnia; I cannot because I have an internet connection.’

As a parent we are overjoyed that our one plus year old kid can do wonders on our smart phones. He is able to change settings without any help, can watch videos and play games. We feel proud that of our child is a tech genius. The smart phone is his favourite toy. It is also a sure way to calm him after a long and tiring schedule as working parents. We, as parents, are also glued to our tablet, smart phone or laptop. We bring home loads of work from office and don’t want any distractions. The chattering of our child seems like a big nuisance and providing them with their own i-pads or smart phones can take care of the situation. Children can play computer games or watch cartoons on it while we take care of our official deadlines! 

What happened to the story sessions, discussions at dinner table, outdoor games, connecting with nature in the garden and quality time spent with kids and family?

Let me describe to you a typical-21st century urban kid - he is physically unfit, has difficulty in interacting with others but has thousands of virtual friends on facebook, someone who has derived values from television shows and online videos, is moody and hyper and goes into a shell easily. According to an article in Forbes magazine - Research has shown that people with internet addiction have demonstrable changes in the brain - both in the connections between cells and in the brain areas that control attention, executive control and emotion processing. Most intriguing is the fact that some of these changes are similar to people with substance abuse or drug addictions.

Our children are growing in a world where they have an access to data that is not age appropriate. Our children are becoming addicted to violent video games and pornography which is freely available on the net.

Let us all pledge to go back to having normal children with right values. We cannot do away with the internet but we can limit the usage of the same. There can be small internet free outings to begin with; where we decide not to access the internet. We can play games, go for a movie, read books or just talk and connect with each other. Rules such as limited internet time, computers in the living room, cellphones to be handed over to the parents at bed time, internet settings for parental control over access and random checks can ensure right and proper usage of the internet. We can teach our children to safeguard their interests. Social media websites such as facebook and instagram could be an easy way to find out personal information about children, which sometimes could have alarming repercussions as perverts and criminals could stalk them online.

I feel that as parents, the best we can do is to communicate with our children on a daily basis.

This may be done by ensuring that the family has at least one meal together where we spend time inquiring about our children’s day, sharing our experiences and providing our feedback (without being judgmental or self-righteous)

Similarly, as the old adage goes – ‘a family that prays together stays together’; we spend time as a family thanking the Almighty for all the blessings in our life which, in turn, inculcates a value based spiritual relationship with God (as we understand Him).