Internet and children on vacation: free screen bar?
With the arrival of school holidays, the children's free time skyrockets and there are many who spend more time than advisable to play with their mobile devices. That is why many parents wonder if it is convenient to leave them free bar screens for the use of their video games, the Internet and for their communication through social networks. What can we parents do? How much time should they devote to screens?
According to data from the General Media Study (EGM), 61 percent of children between 4 and 13 years old are connected to the Internet and according to the National Statistics Institute (INE) between 10 and 15 years, more than 90 percent have Access to a computer or mobile device daily.
In terms of security on the Internet, it is very important to protect the digital devices that we have at home, since 79 percent of the cases the connections of minors are made from home, 14 percent from school and 7 percent from other sites
6 tips to create a safe digital environment at home for children
To ensure a safe digital environment on holidays, protect children and become the perfect cyber-parent, take note of these tips:
1. Content blocking. Minors have access to all types of information. With the configuration of certain words in the search engine, access to inappropriate content is avoided.
2. Creation of a titular account. With this, the rest of the accounts are monitored and all the contents can be accessed.
3. Security and privacy notices. By analyzing vulnerabilities, the parent receives a warning if their child accesses an inappropriate digital zone.
4. Download of applications. Limiting application downloads is essential to avoid ads and links to unwanted pages.
5. Antibullying service. Since a suspicion of cyberbullying is born, you should go to specialized services against digital harassment. This virtual assistance proceeds to a search for digital attacks and collects evidence that may have legal validity.
6. Supervision and education on the internet. Having a strengthened base on the risks in the network and how to prevent them is important in minors. The consumption of technology by children is high and therefore you have to control what they do and if they use it correctly.
Time for screens: how we limit the use of digital devices
In addition to protecting our equipment to prevent our children from having access to pages of content that is not very recommendable for them, it is essential to maintain a schedule regarding the time of use of the screens, since exceeding its use can be harmful.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends an hour of use of interactive screens for children from 3 to 5 years old. And when they are somewhat older, this same organism warns that in children between 6 and 18 years, the use of screens should not exceed two hours a day.
However, we know thanks to the statistics and studies that are already being done about the time of use of screens that the reality is very different. Thus, a document from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), which cites the statistics of the Kaiser Family Foundation, says that on average, children aged 8 to 10 spend almost eight hours a day in a variety of different ways and teenagers spend more than 11 hours a day.
The current trend is as follows:
- Children under two years old should not spend any time in front of a screen.
- It is necessary to limit the time in front of the screen from 1 to 2 hours a day for children over two years old.
Marisol Nuevo Espín
