Kids today spend a lot of time with gadgets like the iPad, mobile phones, video games, tablets, and computers. Often a sheer helpless measure in nuclear families, where the child has nobody else to play with or talk to... otherwise a choice for convenience for working parents, who feel that they "should" "invest" in an iPad as their child will at least sit in one place and not "bother" them.

Think of your childhood – you had friends, siblings and cousins to play with, there was a park where you played till you had to go back and do your homework… your energy was utilised through play. Today a kid plays IPL or FIFA on a gadget; plays games which increase aggressive tendencies and in the process what happens? Lack of human connection - so vital to learn social skills – and no physical activity to utilise energy. Will it not make him restless and impulsive? 

Restlessness doesn't help him sit quietly in the classroom; impulsivity doesn't help him control his responses to classmates. He has aggression as a learnt tool to deal with others. If not, he opts for solitary play or chosen loneliness.

This paves the path for poor relationships and depression as he grows. He depends on "virtual" friends for company, social networking sites for socialising, the computer or the "idiot box" for recreation. He Googles and knows almost everything with the press of a button but knows not how to deal with other human beings. He has poor social skills and when lonely, turns again to a gadget!!!

Sound familiar? 

Parents, instead of just worrying, connect with your kids, talk to them, play with them, make them interact with other children, so that they have very little time left for these gadgets. Monitor your own as well as your child's time spent with gadgets. Teach him to make friends, adjust to and tolerate differences with others. After all this could be the best training for a happy future! 

It may not be as easy as it sounds, and if you are finding it difficult to get your child off gadgets, contact our counsellors for more information and help.