Month: August 2023

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Creating a Safe Internet Environment at Home: Best Practices for Parents

According to Nationally representative poll, two third of parents are worried about children’s  increased time on devices, including overall screen time and use of social media, taking number 1 and number 2 spots on the children’s health concerns this year.(Hindustan Times). 

Recent Common Sense Media research shows that media use by tweens (ages 8–12 years) and teens (ages 13–18 years) rose faster in the two years since the COVID-19 pandemic than the four years before. The research found 8- to 12-year-olds spend an average of five and a half hours a day on screens and consuming media. That rate climbs to over eight and a half hours a day for teens.

Among teens, 79% said they use social media and online videos at least once a week, and 32% of these said they “wouldn’t want to live without” YouTube. And nearly two-thirds (65%) of tweens said they watch TV, 64% watch online videos and 43% play games on a smartphone or tablet every day.

In another survey, 71% of parents with younger children (under 12 years old) said they were concerned about their child spending too much time in front of screens

Quite alarming right?

Technology inherently neither beneficial nor detrimental. It all depends upon its usage. But again, it is the responsibility of a parent to assess what is developmentally appropriate for their child. This can be done by informing children about pros and cons of specific digital media consumed by them. But again, the question arises is how much is too much. The answer is not that straight forward. There are various factors that are involved in this.

First and foremost, what type of digital media your child is consuming, be it games, social media, the news, online videos, apps, texting, FaceTime, educational content etc?

Secondly what is the motivation behind using technology be it peer pressure, boredom, research, socializing or just a feelgood factor?

Thirdly, how much time a child is spending on using technology  and doing any other things like reading book, sleeping, playing etc.?

Fourthly, whatever a child is watching is it aligning with the family values or not?

It also depends upon child’s personal attributes like, his or her personality, mental health condition, age, etc.

Lastly, what is the setting of child using any technology, is he watching alone, or with friends, or with an unknown person.

Only when all these questions are considered, you would be able to answer how much  screen time is actually Ok.

Concern remains the same if we don’t find a solution to control what they should watch and for how long? I have come across a word called digital diet. It is like any other healthy diet we look for a child. For example, how much sugar a child should consume? Neither too much nor too less, anything which is balanced. Similarly, Digital diet is consuming digital media without compromising on their physical and cognitive learning and development.

It might seem overwhelming but with all the information available online be it parental control, parenting groups, scholarly research, monitoring apps and Happinetz technology which is definitely a revolution in this digital world, parenting do look possible.

Happinetz is a safe internet for kids’ box that connects to your home router wired or wirelessly. Once connected, it creates a separate WiFi which filters out age-inappropriate internet and helps you set screen time schedules for devices connected to this WiFi. Happinetz continuously monitors more than 110 million websites and apps and is preconfigured to block more than 22 million adult and unsecured websites.

  • Exhaustive filtering system
  • Customizable internet schedule
  • Insight to help parents monitor what websites & apps children are opening
  • Quick setup: A quick 2 step-5 minutes process
  • Zero kid involvement: No need to download apps on your child’s device
  • Device compatibility: Connect up to 10 devices, including Android or iOS phones, tablets, laptops, and smart TVs.

By using Happinetz you will definitely be solving much of your problems but with this we can also make a Family Technology Plan. In this plan you can list down certain rules.

  • Device can only be used after finishing studies and before dinner and should not be used during mealtime, school time and before going to bed.
  • Device can be used only for 30 mins at a stretch.
  • What type of digital media to be used need to be decided like, YouTube, WhatsApp etc.
  • Where to use the device? For example, in the presence of parents or in common area etc.

“Just like you would watch out for them on the corner or at the park, you watch out for them online.”…Need of the hour.

 This post is a part of Happinetz – Safe Internet For Kids  https://www.happinetz.com/product/happinetz-box 

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10 Virtues To Stay On Top Of Your Game

Who doesn’t want to stay on top of the game. It’s my desire and It’s a desire of millions of people too. The most important or I can say the bottom line of success journey is that it starts with a thought which leads to action. When we do each thing full-speed ahead with the best of our ability, doors open.

So go as far as you can see, and when you get there you will always be able to see further.

I knew a boy who worked in the grocery store across the street. During covid time, most of the stores used to keep limited inventory and most of the shopkeepers were borrowing from one another. This boy used to run from one shop to another so that they can serve the customer. One day when I visited the store I asked one of the shopkeeper why this boy always run everywhere he went. So this shopkeeper replied that he is working for a raise, and he is going to get one, I then asked him how he knew that he is going to get a raise, and the shopkeeper replied “If the man this boy is working for won’t give him one, I will.

When we do more than we are paid to do, eventually we will be paid more for what we do.

Maintain five attitude in your life and you will be well on your way to the top. First is self esteem, feeling of your own worth influences every facet of your life. The second attitude is Love, attitude towards others, real love always thinks in terms of what is best for the other person. The third is faith, attitude towards God, it will influence your attitude towards people around you. The fourth attitude is hope, attitude towards your future, it is the realistic expectation that something good is going to happen. The fifth attitude is forgiveness, which deals with our past. The ability to forgive others.

Maintaining the right attitude is easier than regaining the right attitude.

Sometimes little mistakes and failures come in our way that are not earth shattering or life changing but they cause a momentary stop in our progress. So what do you do? First thing is acknowledge that you are in a trouble. Step two is recognize that this is neither permanent nor life threatening. Accept responsibility for improving your circumstances and you will realize that you have turned a small tragedy into a big win.

Make failure your teacher, not your undertaker.

A study of three hundred world class leaders including Mahatama Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Sir Winston Churchill Jr, Martin Luthur King, revealed that 25% of them had serious physical disabilities and an additional 50% has been abused as children or were raised in poverty. All of them responded positively instead of reacting negatively towards their situation. Remember, It’s not what happens to you, It’s how you handle what happens to you that’s going to make the difference in your life.

Where you start is not as important as where you finish.

Merlin Olsen, an American football player, who played in NFL Pro Bowl fourteen times as an American defensive player. Once his mother asked him a question, “What would you like to be”? he said “I want to be big and and be athletic. His ambition doesn’t seemed practical then as everyone in his family were small in stature and because he was clumsy he was never chosen to be part of the game. But rest is history.

Persistence is what makes the impossible possible, the possible likely, and the likely definite.

The proper utilization of our time and resources involves some truth which are so simple and basic that many people miss them completely. We need to understand that there is no point in doing well those things which we should not be doing at all. When you take on a task , you should ask yourself, if this is something you should be doing? Focus on effective use of time, rather than efficient use of time.

Efficiency is doing things right. Effectiveness is doing the right things.

Good habits must be grabbed firmly, forcefully, with a strong commitment. Regardless of how you feel at the moment, any decision reinforced by your will to take action on your commitment, will produce some marvelous results in an amazingly short period of time.

If you want to change your life for the better, you must start immediately and do it flamboyantly.

Most people who fail in their dream, fail not from lack of ability but from lack of commitment. Commitment produces consistent, enthusiastic effort that inevitably produces greater rewards. Commitment, discipline and responsibility keep you going when the going gets tough.

You are the way you are because that’s the way you want to be. If you really wanted to be any different, you would be in the process of changing right now.

It is a fact of life that you need to know where you are and where you want to be. The goal setters earned an average of twice as much per month as the non action group. Action group tended to be more enthusiastic, more satisfied with life and work and have happier and healthier life.

It seems universally true that people who have direction in their lives go farther and faster and get more done in all areas of their lives.

Inspired by Zig Ziglar

This blog post is written for SpeakEasy 3.0 hosted by Dipika Singh (www.gleefulblogger.com) and Ruchi Verma (www.wigglingpen.com)