When her 5-year-old was prohibited from using this object, it helped cultivate better behavior and parents couldn't agree more.
The current generation of parents is quite helpless in practicing a technology detox with their kids. Wherever we look, there's a smart device and making kids stay away from them is almost unattainable. However, with a little patience and consistency, it is possible, and Nicole, a mom of two—who goes by @thenicoleworldon TikTok—has reaped some fruits out of it. The mom had banned her child from screen time and it came with a myriad of advantages. "The difference in her is absolutely huge," the mom said in the caption of her video, which garnered over 26,000 views.
Showing her 5-year-old daughter Mila's iPad, the mom said that her daughter hadn't used the device in three weeks. It has brought some significant behavioral changes. Firstly, the little girl has stopped asking to play on the iPad. "That kind of addiction of wanting to go on it after waking up in the morning, wanting to go on it as soon as she came from school and constantly asking for it has completely vanished," said Nicole. Only when Mila stopped "craving" her iPad did her mom realize how addicted to it she used to be earlier. "Her imagination and her play have developed so much more. She is really engaged in sitting and playing with toys and using her imagination, and asking lots of questions and doing a lot more learning at home than she usually would," the mom added.
But it wasn't just a ban on iPads. Also, Mila was prohibited from using YouTube. This technological detox has helped the 5-year-old become "calmer, kinder and more gentle," and the mom pointed out that the little girl now tries to spend more time with her parents. With the iPad out of the picture, Mila had learned to find her own fun and entertain herself with new activities wherever she was. Also, the kid turned out so well-behaved that she didn't want to be told to brush her teeth or get dressed because she did it all by herself without procrastinating. Nicole added that Mila seemed to speak nicer and kinder to other people, unlike before.
"So, if you're thinking about banning the iPad or screen time or just taking a break from it, I definitely urge you to. This isn't to say that she'll never get screen time or she'll never get her iPad back again. But it definitely has helped her behavior and I think having a gap like this will help her appreciate it a little bit more when she does have it," the mom pointed out. Though banning iPads might have some downsides, like not being able to read ebooks, the benefits outweigh those, as per Nicole. The mom's approach was lauded by many in the comments. Parents rallied around the advantages of restricting screen time.
"We banned kids from YouTube and noticed way less aggression," said @jennifermacdonald64. "They zone out into another world, I feel, when they spend too much time on them," remarked @roastpotato02. "I deleted YouTube for my 7- and 3-year-old's tablets and just downloaded educational and fun games and their behavior and playing together has been amazing. You are doing an amazing job," lauded @sabrinamcc26. "We have also done the same with my five-year-old! The best thing I have ever done," added @meganneburnss.
@thenicoleworld The difference in her has been absolutely huge! #mumsoftiktok #toddlersoftiktok #kidsoftiktok #screentime #kidsbelike #behaviour ♬ original sound - NICOLE 🤍
You can follow Nicole (@thenicoleworld) on TikTok for more parenting and family content.