It is officially back to school and it means tons of homeworks, quizzes and exams for your child to get done with. But with smartphones and tablets lying around, it can be hard for parents to disconnect their children from these gadgets. So, it is time to set some rules on their usage of these popular tech devices.
According to an email sent by TeenSafe to Parent Herald, the monitoring service platform said that there are ways to set the limit when it comes to the usage of smartphones during study time. As a matter of fact, TeenSafe shared some smartphone protocol guidelines through a blog post titled, "Smartphone Etiquette Guide For Kids When Studying," that every parent and child should understand and follow.
First thing that was mentioned in the blog post was to "put the smartphones on pause." This would simply mean that kids should not have their smartphones or tablets beside them when they are studying, although there are a few exceptions to the rule.
Based on the recent survey conducted by TeenSafe, the findings showed that 80 percent of the kids admitted that they switch back and forth between homework and smartphones often while they are studying. The survey also found out that kids who are less distracted had higher GPAs than those who were sidetracked by smartphones and tablets.
With that said, it is safe to assume that smartphones and studying don't exactly coalesce together. In fact, smartphones and other tech gadgets appear to have some disruptive potential in a child's learning process.
To ensure that smartphones or tablets are on pause, TeenSafe advices to use their app while studying. This will completely put the devices in silent mode, so that kids won't hear notifications for messages or calls.
Second tip is "some apps are allowed." This means that entertainment apps should be banned when your kids are studying. For educational apps like SATs test prep apps, on the other hand, it is alright to allow them to use their smartphones and tablets to help them study.
"Communication with teachers" is the third tip in TeenSafe's smartphones etiquette guide. In this technologically advanced era, parents can't really deny the fact that there are some schools who uses smartphones in their curriculum for educational apps and platforms to submit homeworks, test preps and class updates.
As parents, however, it is your duty to ensure that your kids have only access to these apps to aid them when they study. Parents just need to make sure that the phone feature of their smartphones are on silent or all notifications should be turned off.
Another tip is "FaceTime sessions." It's a known fact that learning is unique for every child. So, if your child is one of those kids who learns more if he or she is in a group, allow your kids to FaceTime with a friend or group of friends but ensure that they are indeed studying and not gossiping.
In addition, FaceTime or Skype could also be useful if your kid has a tutor because the apps will allow them to work remotely. It is also very accessible, so anytime your kid has something he or she is confused about, the tutor could just be a call away.
The last and final tip is "study breaks." It is important to give your kids some break time while they are studying. Although rules should be implemented even on breaks, giving kids smartphone breaks will motivate them to study more and be good in school.
Meanwhile, the earlier you set these TeenSafe rules to your kids, the better. Even though they don't have a homework, quiz or exam to prepare, set the rules, so that it will not come as a surprise to them.
