SMART PARENTING

SMART PARENTING

5 Steps TO RAISING YOUR CHILD

WITHOUT GADGETS
“To a child, ‘love’ is spelled T-I-M-E” - Zig Ziglar
Children bring with them joy and a hope for a better future. But
anybody can tell you that being a parent is not easy! Especially in
today’s world, where there are more demands on time and thought.
Busy parents want to give their child the best of everything but at the
same time, they struggle due to scarcity of time.

It is also difficult for parents sometimes to see their child growing up

in a digital world that is filled with constant distractions.

Let’s face it-kids are often addicted to the smartphone, tablet,

computer and television. It is a quality that children often share with
their parents. And once they start, they seem unable to stop the
cycle. This results in parents feeling overwhelmed at the child’s lack
of engagement with them and with the world outside the screen.

IF YOU’RE A PARENT, ASK YOURSELF THIS:

Do you want your child to lead a gadget-free life?

Do you wish that your child has a routine to bring order into
his/her day?

Do you hope for your child to have a more independent life?

If YES, read on.

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We want to assure you that it is possible for a child to lead a
gadget-free childhood. It takes a bit of time and a lot of parental
patience, but it can be done.
Having worked with over 2,80,000 parents in the last three years,
we have found that it takes just 5 KEY STEPS to move from a
Smartphone Parent to a Smart Parent. Don’t worry, it’s not difficult
and we are right by your side, walking this road with you. READY?

LET’S GO

VIJAY, CO-FOUNDER

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Step OPERATE WITH SMARTNESS

We get it. At the end of a long work day, maybe a bad one, the last thing
you may have energy for is a curious child. You look at your child’s eager
face, the child’s need to be close to you and you want very much to do
the same.

You want to spend ‘QUALITY TIME’ with your child. But this is often
a case of, ‘the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.’ And before you
realise it, you choose the easiest way out-hand over your phone/tablet,
and try to catch your breath. You tell yourself that it’s only till you get
your energy back. Since when did spending time with your child become
your smartphone spending time with your child?

Now, you may argue that your child is occupied and is having a good
time. Yes, you’re right, that does seem to be the case. But, Is your child
engaged? Is your child learning? Is your child’s tender and developing
mind engaged in the true sense of the word? And we’re not even getting
into how handing over the phone is perhaps the least effective way to
good parenting.

HERE’S THE THING: Between the time your child makes his/her way
into the world all the way up to the terrible twos, a baby’s brain triples
in size. With a parent’s involvement, a parent’s touch, voice, and time, the
child learns important lessons, especially about emotional bonding.

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When the parent is replaced by a screen, this kind of connection is
not established. Even two hours spent with a smartphone can create
social and emotional problems in your child.

Obesity and Presbyopia (an age-related eye sight problem,

stems from a gradual thickening and loss of flexibility of the
natural lens inside your eye) are not conditions anyone should
go through. But it’s even more heartbreaking when we hear that
children are falling prey to these as well. And the reasons for this?

The smartphone and internet. There are many compelling reasons

as to why you need to help your child get far away from the phone.

PLEASE REMEMBER you are your child’s parent. While he/she may
have more energy, your experience and age makes you the smarter
one! Use this edge to help your child become a better version of
himself/herself every day.

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Step TEACH SELF-RELIANCE

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Simply put,
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teach Simply put, self-reliance
a child independence. is
A child
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and
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dence in his/her abilities.
those of others. This is a great method to teach a child indepen-
dence. A child learns from his/her own experiences and gradually
JUST THINK OF THE AMAZING POSSIBILITIES THAT SELF-RELI-
gains more confidence in his/her abilities.
ANCE OFFERS.YOUR CHILD GROWS UP SELF-AWARE, HAPPY
AND CONTENT IN THE CHOICES HE/SHE MAKES.
Just think of the amazing possibilities
that self-reliance offers. Your
child grows up self-aware,
happy and content in the
choices he/she makes.

The child understands the difference between a need and a want

and pursues goals and dreams with a growing self-awareness and
self-confidence.

The smartphone doesn’t allow a child to find out things on his/her

own. It curbs creativity and limits optical sensory development.

Research has also proven that the very nature of the smartphone,
which is highly diverting, can impede a child’s skills-especially those
required for science and mathematics. Apart from this, a child does
not have enough opportunities to develop motor skills; the only
limbs being used are fingers!
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The smartphone reduces a child’s attention span and doesn’t leave
the child with too much time to think of the consequences of any
action. The games are entertaining for sure, but your child has a
richer thought process.

An essential quality to imbibe SELF-RELIANCE IS ALLOWING THE

CHILD TO FAIL. Yes, the key word is ALLOW. As a parent, you try to
protect your child from every bad thing. This is a natural instinct, but it
creates issues too. A child who has never known failure can find it hard
to cope up in the future. Then, the lessons become too painful and
difficult to deal with. No, you need to give your child the freedom to
fail. Only then will the child go beyond his/her comfort zone and learn
more. Once the child understands that failure is normal, he/she gets
over another hurdle to self-reliance-the fear of failure. An absence of
fear means more exploration. More exploration means more learning.
More learning means a more aware and self-assured young person.

All these are reasons for you to get involved in creating chances
for your child to gradually learn how to be self-dependent. Do this
without the use of the phone. As a parent, as a guide, you need to show
calmness and confidence in your interactions with your child. Do this
and your child will have imbibed a value that will hold him/her in good
stead all life through.
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Step USE THE SECRET WEAPON: ROUTINES

Remember a time when you had a routine for yourself? You came home
from play at a particular time, you went to sleep and woke up at a set
time. So many kids today don’t seem to have any sense of deadlines or
routines. Life has a sense of uncertainty, which can be unsettling for a child.
Smartphone use leads to
fatigue and less sleep.

A child needs rest, the

brain needs time to
unwind and recharge
for the next day. But in
today’s world, given the
amount of stimuli a child
gets from a phone, this is
sometimes impossible.
A child craves security, a
sense of safety and be-
longing. A home is that
place, a parent is that
person. Thus, creating
a routine for a child is
absolutely vital. A daily,
weekly, monthly routine
brings order into a child’s life. Fill the routine with interesting stuff! A
weekly visit to the local library, a daily walk around the neighbourhood
park, assisting in grocery shopping when your partner and you go to the
farmer’s market. There’s a lot a child can do-this creates involvement and
engagement and hones the innate curiosity kids possess.

You can use the power of routines to slowly reducing the time spent
on gadgets. Follow it up with rewards and appreciation when the
child sticks to the plan.
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Step INTRODUCE SMART STUFF

Dont get us wrong. Technol-

ogy is good. Technology is
important. It helps you keep
in touch with your child, for
instance. But it can never
replace YOU in a child’s life.
It shouldn’t. And one of the
ways to be a better parent,
is to be more involved in the
choices in your child’s life.
Give your child more-more
of your time, more of the
world, more chances to learn
and more exciting things to
learn. What will all this result
in?

Imagine if a child already knew, say, at 17, what he/she wants to do with
life? How miraculous that would be.We meet so many adults who go about
life with no sense of joy, stuck sometimes in a path not of their choosing.

No one would wish that their child ends up that way. But how do we
make a child realize his/her own interest? We introduce the child to ‘smart
stuff,’ in a gradual fashion, piquing his/her interest and creating learning
opportunities. A child learns a ton of different things and thus, has a wide
range of choices to think about. As the activities grow, so the interest
grows. The child wants to delve deeper into topics, say space travel or
sea exploration. This creates a stronger will to learn and the child gains
confidence as he/she learns more. Self-reliance is a given and a child is
better poised to take important educational decisions as a young adult.
Early inspiration has a lasting impact.
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Step INVEST EARLY

BY THIS, WE REALLY MEAN, START EARLY.

We seem to follow a pattern in our country-save money for our
children-for their college education, for their weddings, for other
needs. Instead of saving money for college fees, wouldn’t it be simpler
to invest in your child’s life, in his/her future?

You need to start early here too-in childhood. Every moment spent
with your child, teaching and engaging, causing changes to take place
in small and significant ways, becomes crucial as he/she grows up.

DENIS WAITLEY says,

“The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of
responsibility and the wings of independence.”

These are formidable gifts in today’s world and ones that your child
will do well to possess.

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THE CHOICE IS NOW YOURS.

The ball is now in your court. You can continue to be a Smartphone

Parent or you can move on to become a super-cool Smart Parent.

It’s easy being a winner-all you need are these FIVE STEPS:

1 Operate with Smartness

2 Teach Self-Reliance
3 Create Routines
4 Introduce Smart Stuff
5 Invest Early

Where do we come in? We are your partners in all the steps, but
especially at STEP 4 - ‘Introduce Smart Stuff.’

Flintobox, our monthly activity box is positively crammed with

interesting ideas that will kindle your child’s interest and create a
spark for learning and joy-filled exploration.

You can do the 5 steps yourself and go from being a Smartphone

Parent to a Smart Parent. But if you want to achieve results faster, I
invite you to invest in a Flintobox.

Get in touch with us at www.flintobox.com TODAY! Together, we

can make your child’s life brighter, more meaningful, and more
learning-filled.

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and

I learn.”
- Benjamin Franklin

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