Mobile phone addiction is bad enough when it is in adults, devouring all useful time in vain, silly scrolling and video watching, that provides no benefit whatsoever. But it is much, much worse when a child is addicted to it. Many parents make the horrible mistake of leaving their children at the mercy of a device because they are “too busy” doing other things to be able to spend quality time with their own kids.

Childhood is such an important age for brain and intellectual development, when the body needs a high amount of physical and mental exercise, and social interaction. This is the age for them to stay outdoors, play with their friends, reading books, and trying new things. Not to stay cooped up at home all day long, staring endlessly at a digital device until their eyes go red, and their creative powers are dramatically reduced. Indeed preventing mobile phone addictions among children is so important, it could determine the entire course of their life, their personality growth, and major decision making later on.

So how do you pull your child away from that device, and encourage them to do something more productive? Here are a few things you can try:

1.    Reading. Since they like sitting in one place already, they should also be able to sit and one place and read. And since they love looking at screens, give them a tablet or kindle to read from, before gradually moving on to real books. Reading is one of the best ways to open the mind, promote creative thinking, and enhance imaginative skills. There is always a marked difference between an individual who reads and an individual who does not.

2.    Spend more time with them. Do things they’ll like, talk to them, joke with them, play a board game, anything to promote family bonding. Don’t leave them unattended to find something to do by themselves. Children may still be too young to be able to cope with boredom without reaching out for a device. Because of how easy it is to quell boredom with a simple game of Candy Crush or a youtube video, electronic devices are so commonly used.

3.    Let them play outside, and make new friends. Once in the habit, children would love playing outside in the fresh air, all by themselves. There really is nothing like a lively game of hiding and seek, or tag, out in the open. It also helps them interact with more children their age.

4.    Help them develop a hobby. Whether it’s painting, or baking, or writing - anything, to keep them occupied and entertained, in a productive way without having to think about a device.

5.    Encourage them to help with chores. Let them clean the dishes once, or help with chopping vegetables. Don’t make it sound boring, like a chore that needs to be done. Make it exciting, encourage them to explore new ways of doing the same mundane stuff.

Overall, you need to make sure you let them know that there are other exciting and fun things to do in the world out there, and that life does not revolve around what you see on the screen.