The increasing habit of drugs in children is not only snatching their childhood from them, but is also snatching their life. Many such things are being included in the new lifestyle, which along with providing facilities are also creating new dangers. One of these is a mobile phone. The use of smart phones has increased tremendously in the last few years. Due to the online education system during the corona pandemic, children have become more familiar with the use of mobiles. Children have become victims of mobile addiction knowingly or unknowingly in the last few days. Some parents give mobiles to their children to entertain their children while they are feeding or when they are busy with other tasks. While on the one hand certain benefits of mobile usage cannot be ruled out, on the other hand some serious consequences are being seen in children due to mobile addiction due to excessive use The Chhattisgarh government has taken seriously the prevention of drug addiction among children. Chhattisgarh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights is constantly making people aware through pamphlets, programs, while brainstorming is being done for effective measures to keep children away from drug addiction. In this series, a workshop was organized on the topic ‘Prevention of children from drug addiction, challenges and solutions’ under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel. The Chief Minister showed commitment for the healthy and proper development of children in Chhattisgarh here and talked about expanding the campaign against drugs. The Chief Minister also brought before the people a brochure and ‘Lika Mann Ke Goth’ booklet to create awareness about drugs.
Consequences of continuous use of mobile and intoxicants
According to psychologists, due to the electromagnetic radiation of the mobile, there is lethargy, inactivity in the brain activities and the behavior of children appears to be disturbed. There is a change in the natural routine of children. For example, children wake up in the morning and spend a lot of time looking at the mobile, while at that time they are expected to do daily activities like brushing, bathing etc. Children’s ability to work physically is affected because they keep sitting in one place holding the mobile. Due to watching mobile till late night, sleep is not complete and they get irritable and disturbed nature increases.
With more use of mobile, children start living in the unreal world i.e. virtual world. Unnecessary chatting through mobile, reading WhatsApp comments etc. not only wastes time, but children also corrupt their mind with misleading information. The connection between the hands and brain of children is affected by the mobile. Due to this, lack of ability to write with pen or pencil has also been seen in many children. Watching mobile while sitting in one place hinders physical progress. This can lead to the increasing problem of obesity in children. Being busy in mobile affects the social life style of the children and they start to dislike walking around the neighborhood, group activities or celebrating festivals collectively. He does not even like to go out of the house. Children are losing interest in reading books.
Tips to prevent mobile addiction
It is important to note that the biggest responsibility and role of saving children from mobile addiction lies with the parents as well as all the family members. Give toys to children according to their age and do not encourage the use of mobiles. Make sure to give time to interact with the children whenever you get a chance, turn off the television and put away the mobile and have a light humorous face-to-face conversation.
Involve children in more and more physical activities at home, such as decorating the house on festivals, cleaning on holidays, involving in daily chores, etc. Make a time table for children and reduce the use of mobile gradually. Make a habit of turning off the mobile while talking in front of you. Allocate at least one hour a day to outdoor play with other children and encourage children to participate in physical and outdoor sports at that time, so that their mind will be away from mobile for that time and they will be able to play outside. You can feel the joy of the environment.
Get inspired to play games like chess, snake ladder, ludo indoors. Parents play with them too. Thus they will get another option of entertainment. Encourage it if children take interest in painting, music, playing instruments, dancing, acting. Provide them the means for this. Encourage them by appreciating their creations. Encourage children to do light exercise daily. Parents themselves should not use mobile too much in front of their children. Remember that parents are role models for children.