How can we stop internet addiction in kids, so they will not develop addictive behaviors?

Question

Kids are addicted to the Internet and video games at a very early age. Since they are little they do not know that addictions are harmful to mental health, as the person loses willpower. Parents seem unable to control them, and sometimes don’t want to, since they think “the kid is entertain.” What can we do as a society to help with this issue?

I AM RECEIVING RESPONSES RELATING TO THE PARENTS. WE KNOW IT'S THEIR RESPONSIBILITY BUT THEY ARE NOT TAKING IT AND THESE KIDS ARE OUT IN SOCIETY. SO NOBODY REALLY IS RESPONDING AS A MEMBER IN SOCIETY, IS THERE SOMETHING WE CAN DO? OR NOT?
Thank you

Answer 1

We could set up more after school activities and outside of school activities for children to foster better social and physical development, As a community, the best way to geet in touch with youth is through the schools and churches. Giving children other fun activities to do in our towns will help decrease the amount of tv and game time our children have. There should also be more family activities. My town actually has lots of activities going on. It really takes someone who is motivated to get things started.

Answer 2

How about start at home? Kids are only addicted to internet and video games because, like you said, parents know that'll keep them entertained and out of their way. Kids don't make the rules, parents do. Any moment you feel like it, you can tell your kid how much time he's to spend online and how much he is allowed to play video games. It takes time (which a many parents don't have), money and attention to get your kid involved in activities other than the internet, but signing them up for a sport, ballet, or other activities aside from school would be a good way to start dealing with internet addiction in kids.
And by the way, addictive behaviors are inherited, not developed. If the tendency towards addiction exists, the kid will be more likely to become one.

Answer 3

these are my suggestions -

1) Never allow them to chat on yahoo with people they do not know. Always monitor their activity online... you can also buy internet software that help children stay off such activities. This is my first suggestion because children get attracted to suspense / or something that is restricted.

Keeping an eye on everything they do online is a good way to make them disinterested in the internet - this way they will only use it for academic purposes or the like.

2) Send them outdoors. Get them admitted to a social outdoor fun activity. that'll help them grow physically and mentally.

Best of luck!

Answer 4

I guess if there really is a problem, then it would have to be addressed in the home. Parents would have to start making rules about time limits etc. Society can't really 'do' anything, unless you want a police state. This is up to parental guidance and sensible, quality time with the kids.

Answer 5

keep them involved in outside activities.. sports, school clubs, local ymca..the responsibility falls in the hands of the parents.. not society..

Answer 6

Parents have it rough these days. They have so much going on in our fast-paced society. With cell phones and pagers, people are making themselves constantly available to their other obligations. Often, the world demands so much of them that they get lost in trying to keep up. Things like taking care of their families and themselves gets forgetton. Especially with women.

Women should remember to be a woman first. That's who they were before they became the wife and the mother. Men were men before they became husbands and fathers, too.

However, more often (traditionally) women also take on the additional roles of housekeeper, maid, cook, launderer, and childcare worker. In fact, they oake care of everyone and everything in addition to working outside the home.

WIth the new technologies and advances in home entertainment, parents tend to lighten their load by giving their children electronic toys and gifts. It keeps the kids occupied and they are less effort to care for.

This can be both good and bad. It is only bad when the parents rely on electronic babysitters so they don't have to make an effort to be parents.

Sometimes parents don't kow about or realize the effects that electronics have on their children. One would think it would be obvious if their child is obese and socially retarded. But even those that do realize it find it too painful to admit that if they made more effort to be parents, their kids wouldn't have those problems.

Parents need to make time, schedule it in if need be, to be men and women first. Then they need to make time to be partners, and to be parents, and to be a family. They need to require this of their children, too.

When parents encourage their kids to go out and play, and get them in a school activity or sport, it gives them time to spend as a couple (like a kid-free date). The kids benefit from the exercise and social interaction with other kids.

Then, when the kids come home, they have more things to be proud of and more going on to share with their families.

Parents just need to slow down and stop trying to keep up with the Joneses. They need to stop living to work, and start working to live. They need to take care of themselves and their families first, so they can better handle the stresses and demands of working.

People need to shut their phones off when they are having family dinner. People need to take their kids' phones away when their kids are studying. They need to disable the internet unless they are around to know what their kids are doing on it. They need to have secret passwords and other ways to regulate what their kids do.

Parents just need to realize that their behavior teaches their kids how to behave. They need to live their lives as they wish their children would. They need to be better examples. They need to show their children how to take care of themselves first, then how to be a part of a family.

Electronic entertainment can be stimulating, educational, and improve some brain functioning. But it should be regulated and moderated. It should not be allowed to replace the important things in life.

I am not sure what we as a society can do to help this. Maybe it should start with employers being more family oriented, like rotating special days off for family time, or like helping their subordinates olan family vacations, or even funding family functions. Maybe it should be some sort of community requirement, to participate in some family program, or something. Maybe the media needs to make their focus more family oriented, make family activities more sensational and available, and make non-family- friendly stuff less glamourous.

Answer 7

Hold a discussion on what they like to do. Ie if they like fishing buy then a fishing poll.

Answer 8

We should destory eletronics