Nowadays, smartphones are a Nigerian child’s best friend.

The few Nigerian families who had landlines, don’t use them again and since both parents usually have mobile phones, their children also have access to it from a very young age.

Many Nigerian children are becoming addicted to their smartphones. Most children even go to bed with their smartphones.

“But do you know that your child can be addicted to a smartphone?”

It is very easy to get addicted to anything, even the smartphone. This type of addiction can be defined as spending more than seven hours a day using the phone and experiencing symptoms such as anxiety, insomnia and depression when cut off from a phone.

Children use smartphones to text their friends, check their emails and update their social media accounts. Being cut off from their device, means that they are unable to interact with the outside world, something that many young children may be unable to cope with.

For today’s child, life before modern technology is difficult to imagine.

If you think your child is addicted to a smartphone, you can look out for the following signs:

1. Withdrawal

If your child is irritable, anxious or sad after having their smartphone taken away, then he or she may have an unhealthy attachment to the device.

2. Loss of interest

If a child who once loved playing football or riding a bicycle has lost interest in all those activities in favour of spending hours on a smartphone, this may signal that there is a problem.

If you notice that your child is only happy when he is using his smartphone, or if your child is upset because their smartphone gets in the way of accomplishing other activities — these are signs of addiction and parents need to intervene.

3. Lack of control

Children who are addicyed to a smartphone, typically have an inability to control their usage. Such children are constantly checking their phone for new updates and feel obliged to respond immediately.

4. Deception

If your child is fond of using his smartphone in secret or is lying about their phone usage or deceiving family members to spend more time on their phone, then this may be another warning sign.

5. Trouble dealing with emotions

Children who are using their smartphones to avoid dealing with sad, stressful, or negative emotions could have a problem. For example, if your daughter always grabs her smartphone after a fight with a sibling or a parent, she may be coping with her negative emotions using the smartphone.

6. Losing opportunities

Losing friends, failing in school, bad grades etc. may be a sign that your child is detaching from the world and becoming addicted to a mobile device.

What you can do?

Time slots

It’s really hard for children to set limits on themselves.

Just like parents have specific time slots for their children to watch television, parents should also let their child use their phone only during the allotted time.

Another useful tip is to have them charge their phone in your bedroom every night and tell them they can have the phone back in the morning.

Limit access to internet

If your child is using a smartphone with web access and mobile apps, you can either limit their internet access or monitor their usage of the web on their phones.

Talk to your children

Talk to your child about responsible usage before giving him or her a  smartphone. Talk about when and where it’s appropriate to use their mobile phone. For example, phones shouldn’t be used when reading for exams or during school hours.

Set the right example

Parents need to remember that they are their children’s role models. So, set the right example. Don’t use your phone while driving or eating.

Are you worried that your child may addicted to their smartphone? Tell us in the comments.