IS SOCIAL MEDIA FOR KIDS?

Hey darling hivers

This post is brought to you courtesy the #kiss. This weeks questions struck a nerve for me being a parent to be and also an aunty to plenty kids, and so I choose to answer question3

What is your stance on social media and television. What influences might both have on your children, which could be contradicting with your minimalistic ethos, that you might deem as vital to instill in your kids. How do you ensure that there is balance?

The internet space is a very wide one, especially social media. It’s even hard on adults sometimes. I know I am not the only one who sometimes gets this overwhelming feeling from being on the social media space. I can tell you for sure I have gotten some of the worse anxieties in my adult life from social media and all the craziness happening from one platform to the other.

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Does the social space have its benefits?, yes it does, especially if you are in business, asides that and it’s ability to connect millions of persons and bring them closer together, social media can be a very unhealthy space, one I do not recommend for children. Sometimes being on some sites, you get these pop up Ads that are really pornographic by nature, luring one to click on it to have a good time.

Now imagine your kid on one such site. Even some adults without moral and impulse control, sometimes click on such sites. Now I know for sure I would not want my kids to get their minds polluted at a tender age. I won’t even allow my nieces or nephew.

Now Let me give a more practical instance

I am not a parent yet, but I have a total of nine nieces and nephews all together, as the last born I have been opportuned to acquire some parenting skills and knowledge before hand from my elder ones. I see how my sisters are very intentional about their children and how they make sure to create a balance with their kids. One of my nephews love television, he loves cartoon. When he was little it was something his mom allowed, just to get him to sit still and not scatter the house or play rough, he could sit for hours in front of the television and wouldn’t bother anyone. When he began to grow and school work became very serious, she knew it was time to cut down of the free television hand he was already used to. She made tv a reward for good behavior as well as a few hours on the weekends after he had completed all the tasks she wanted him to. It was difficult at first to wean him off cartoon, sometimes then we would catch him in a room doors locked hiding to steal a few illegal peak at the television, but as time went on he got in line with the routine, he now understood the rule that tv isn’t allowed on a school night and if he wanted to have any screen time on the weekends he has to be of his best behavior all week as well as finish his home work first.

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Now he is almost ten, and television isn’t the issue anymore, it is now mobile phone, he wants to watch YouTube, he wants to play game on any phone he lays his hands on, I now asked my sister how she handles him now that he has grown past the age of threats and all. And she said the policy she used then when he was a kid still stands even with gadgets. He isn’t allowed to play any type of video games or YouTube on school nights and if he is good, doesn’t throw any pre-teen tantrums all week he is allowed a certain amount of screen time on the week-ends. And he is only allowed to watch YouTube kids.

For as long as parents still hold the control over their little ones, there should be a balance to everything and a routine that allows the child still enjoy being a child but at the same time understands that there is a pattern to things and if he must achieve his goal in life he must exercise certain amount of decorum in every area of his life. Children do not totally know right from wrong, as the world and social space keeps getting harder, creepier, unhealthy and unsafe, as parents it’s our duty to shield their minds as much as we can whilst allowing them Know why we are doing so till they are older and wiser.

These are my personal opinion though and patterns I would definitely employ with my kids.
Let me know your own take.

See you in my next post