By Dickson Tumuramye
On August 21, 2019, a local daily reported how Rosemary Seninde, the state minister for primary education, was shocked having watched a WhatsApp video showing two children aged between three and five, kissing behind a classroom block.
I also remembered when my six-year-old boy shocked us recently that he knows women get pregnant through kissing. When I probed him, he told us he watched it in an animated movie (cartoons) on television.
Instantly his two siblings, aged seven and four, joined the discussion and talked about other related issues. I and my wife were iced up by this discussion and the influence television has on our children.
Children are more active, spending most of their time online and watching television. We are in a digital world where traditional parenting is changing and parents have to cope with modernity.
There is a saying that if you don’t change with change, change will change you. It is high time we embraced digital media because it is here to stay.
At one year, your child is already playing with your phone, putting it on his ear as though he is in a conversation. Thus, the question is: “How do we handle challenges of digital media in our parenting routes?”
This digital era involves the use of computers, tablets, smartphones, iPads, televisions and smart toys, among others. However, most parents are not so much familiar
with digital media devices and are, therefore, taught by their children.
Most children are more exposed to media and know a lot more than their parents. As such, this compromises parents’ role, competence and authority at home. Digital media has led to cyberbullying and sexual harassment, addictions, pornography, and social disconnection to both parents and children. Even when they are at home, most parents spend more time on social media than attending to their children.
However, not all hope is lost. You can engage your children in a discussion about the benefits and dangers of digital media. Ask them to share their online experience, and encourage them to always confide in you. Watch with them and show them the bad things they should avoid watching or the impact such images can have on their lives.
Don’t rush to judge when you, too, could be addicted to one of the devices or obsessed with reading newspapers/magazines or books. We need to control media influence not only on our children, but also on ourselves before the situation gets out of hand.
The benefits of access to media are unlimited, but they can become harmful in the long run if not well controlled. The primary responsibility of putting measures in place to limit time spent online is in your hands.
Don’t relieve your authority to your children because of your ignorance. Be informed and take charge.
The writer is a child advocate and parenting coach tumudickson@gmail.com
