ednut1:
My children will not be allowed those tablets till they are in high school. Maybe one or two hours supervised use. This next generation will surely me damaged.

franchasofficia:
You guys should learn not to complain about every situation. This is digital age and there is nothing anybody can do about it, so its better you harness the digital era and help your kids key into the gains on time.


My son started using adult tablet from when he was around 6 months, and now that he is 3plus, he is almost a pro with handling gadgets. He even knows how to use Apps to draw, and the latest one I caught him doing was editing his own pictures and his mom's pictures stored on his phone using photo edit App



His early use of Tablet helped him master words and spelling to the extent if you randomly mention alphabets he would tell you different words that started with that alphabet.



At his age, he can count numbers from 1 to 100. He knows virtually all animal names, knows the difference between aeroplane and helicopter.


The most shocking one was a day I drove around with him, this little boy was telling me to stop once he saw red traffic light and when it turned yellow he told me Daaaddyy get ready, and as soon as it turned green he screamed Go!!!!


He learnt all these from watching car racing cartoons and other informative cartoons on his Tab


Anytime I don't want him to watch new videos on youtube because he is so engrossed with YouTube, I just turn off the wifi and he would be begging me Daaadyy on the wifi or on the daata



Abeg enjoy the digital age with your kids and help them harness it positively and you maybe on your way to being the mother of next Mark Zuckerberg

Whois:
My baby is just a year and a month old. I'm scared she'll spoil the tab if i get it so early. How were you able to protect his tab from getting damaged?

pol23:
I used to be pro this thought… Now I see it as a messiah.
My wife works remotely…. And this Boy will never allow her to drink water drop cup.
Thanks to YouTube.
Sometimes I’m scared of what tomorrow will be.
I’m scared if I won’t end up to be a bad Daddy.
I’m hoping we can substitute the E-environment for real outdoor experience…
But parent working 9-5 daily isn’t helping

Samantha124:
My nephew's school gave them tablets, the boy doesn't bother reading the books within the tablet... He's always playing games with it because they installed a lot of games in it.

The teachers have never asked them to bring the tablets along with them to school, which got me wondering what was the main purpose of giving them those tablets in the first place.

lavylilly:
The dangers for impressionable young children and teens go far beyond the regular dupings, kidnapping, etc. As a parent, if you do not keep up, your child can slowly be ‘raised’ by other people and their beliefs.

Parents have to change their strategies and move with the times because the digital age is here to stay and at one point in your child’s life, that world will be opened up to them.

Tips on Raising Kids in the Digital Age

The first thing is to know the group that is most at risk. Kids between the ages of 6 and 23 who fall into a generation now getting labeled Post-Millennial or Gen Z or iGen are the most susceptible. Why? The generation before them, labeled the Millennials, though controversial, still retain a bit of the Nigerian culture and practices. They can still fall prey to the wiles of the Internet, but they are not the ones greatly at risk.

1. Delay social media as long as possible

Social media for all its many positive uses is also a cesspool of the greatest negative influences your Gen-Zer will be exposed to. Delay your child’s ‘initiation’ to it. This gives you more time to train your child to be his or her own individual before outside influences become a factor. Social media, unwisely abused, will cost them something precious that they can’t get back.


2. Delay smartphones as long as possible

Once you introduce your child to an Internet-connected smartphone, with texting and apps like Instagram and Snapchat, parental controls would be virtually futile. Most companies/Apps usually offer some ways of protection on these gadgets/apps for your children but the negative ads, people you don’t want your child to see still manage to pop up. The children themselves have grown smarter and find ways to circumvent your parental controls. Delaying the inevitable gives you more time to groom said child on these dangers. It gives them time to see that no matter how attractive these options may seem, they are still a slippery slope into a bad place that they may never be able to come out of once in.


3. Take control of the wifi inside the home

It’s common for households where WiFi can be afforded to have an open WiFi that all the kids can use from any where in the house. Parents can either limit it to certain rooms in the house like the library, parlor etc or withhold the password and only give out when needed for homework. You can control the time it is used outside doing homework as well.

4. As a blanket rule, for all ages and all devices: Keep screens out of bedrooms.

If you have this rule in your house, it is easy for you to protect your 13 year old boy who is going through puberty from having unlimited time with his device in the privacy of his room where he can slowly get addicted to pornography. This rule also benefits the adults as well. Less screen time in the bedroom ensures your household is getting enough rest when they go in to sleep.

5. Phone Free Zones

You have to have some phone free zones which even you the parent keeps to. Example: The dinning table can be declared as such. No looking at your phone while eating. This helps your child not become so addicted to his or her phone. Keeping to it as the parent, shows your child you are also willing to not allow the phone become an extension of yourself.

6. Watch how each child responds to the digital age.

Every child is different. When you introduce social media, gadgets, watch each child to see how they handle it. Does their phone automatically become a third hand? Are they always secluded with their device? Do they all of a sudden know more about the gadgets than you? Are they lashing out more now? Are they saying and doing things that leave you surprised because you don’t know where they picked that from?

All these questions will help you know which child needs some devices withheld, which one needs more looking into and a whole lot.

7. Learn ALL about the Digital Age

The only way parents can win over a technology that is growing by leaps and bounds is to grow as well. Learn all about it as new updates are made. If you don’t understand Instagram, you won’t understand the pressure it can put on impressionable kids and even adults. If you have no clue what Twitter is, you won’t be able to fathom the social media bullying that goes on there that can cause a 16 year old girl to commit suicide

A quote from Chinua Achebe says “Eneke the bird says that since men have learned to shoot without missing, he has learned to fly without perching.” As a parent in the digital age, you HAVE to learn to grow as the movement is growing.

24SEVEN:


This girl, you love Nigeria oh. Plan to visit Nigeria na??

Samantha124:
I love everyone, not just Nigeria.

I don't know anyone in Nigeria.

Whoknow:
Number one problem of children in this age is television set, I hate children who always gaze on television uncontrollably, such a child don't study even when they do they don't pay attention and they are always distracted.

Joannebassey:
Technology is a necessary evil for a parent, and as a parent in this digital age, I have a love-hate relationship with technology. Sure, it's convenient to buy things online, communicate with others, entertain yourself, and even work; it can also be a real pain in the neck.

Case in point: this morning, my toddler was screaming her lungs out because I didn’t let her watch Baby Shark, as I felt I needed to reduce her screen time and engage her some other way, like with her toys for learning, but this girl wasn’t having it. It can be quite easy for parents to be sucked into always engaging their little ones with these electronic gadgets, but it's important to find a balance and incorporate the way our parents who didn’t have these gadgets engaged us with them.

24SEVEN:


I am very handsome and tall and light skinned. I'm your spec. You have me in Nigeria.

Samantha124:
Jeez!🤣🤣🤣

Unfortunately, I already have my own spec waiting for me in bed right now.

Good night..🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️

Draslo:
Well, you know you're your kids best teachers. They see all your screen time and it's a norm for them. They see this as their brains are developing and adjusting to their new environment outside the womb. People don't realize it but the game has completely changed when it comes to parenting these days. It's almost like new instructions should be handed out.

eben97:
we modern day parents are already on d path of failing ,with respect to this computer trouble.we need to really draw d line n stand firm on discipline with all firmness lest we begin to sing d same song europe is dancing to now due to foolish comfort and share negligence of parental responsibilities.africa is known for child training but we seem to be loosing such noble identity copyin d white man (who has virtually everything working for him )my kids wont stay up on tv while i stay in bed,my daughter has a system but strictly for academic work and thats when i am around.i am on d clergy side thus know that i must practice what i preach.

DonroxyII:
Which Child Trainings are we Known For Or Child Abuse

How many Homes actually Trained their Children on Maturities & How Many Father's are Actually Responsible for their Kids !

Digitalisation has come to stay and papers are gradually going into Extinction we need to Developed Digital Maturities as Parents ... Many Parents who remained analogue in this Dispensation are already losing their Kids to the Street already !

Europe Over pampers Kids .... The Entire World has failed in Kid Raising Only Few has rose the Challenges and that's Why It's all Loopsided no thanks to Global Economic Hardships But It shall All Soon Be Okay !

writeprof:


Thank you for this piece.