Parents must be role models

It's really bad! Young people and even children are completely dependent on smartphones, tablets and PCs. They are completely at the mercy of these devices. Only strict rules, restrictions and coercion can help. When it comes to the media use of children and young people, we adults are quick to pass judgement.

What example do parents set in everyday family life?

However, I have observed two scenes in restaurants in recent weeks that lead me to a different conclusion.

Scene 1: The parents stare at their mobile phones during the whole meal, the ten-year-old son is obviously bored and starts to make nonsense. The situation escalates quite quickly.

Scene 2: A family of four. The mother is intensely occupied with the two children, the father is completely focussed on his smartphone and is not distracted in the slightest by his cheerful family.

Do not lose credibility

What I see - and not just in these two examples - shifts the focus from young people to adults: If children have such role models, how can they learn to use new media and its possibilities responsibly?

Education is more than just laying down rules for children. Parenting also means reflecting on your own behaviour and being a role model.

Of course, this is not easy when it comes to smartphones. Regularly reaching for our devices has become second nature to many of us. However, our children are very aware of what we do. If our educational measures contradict our own behaviour,
we as parents quickly lose our credibility.

Discuss and try out

I believe that jointly established rules on how to deal with mobile phones are a promising way forward. A first step could be, for example, not leaving a mobile phone on the table during meals. Or that you hang up a clock in your home, which saves you having to look at your mobile phone clock (because this often serves as an excuse to check the latest Tiktok videos straight away).

Perhaps the discussion about rules will also reveal completely new needs: an afternoon of games, for example, or a weekend trip without a mobile phone. Many things can be tried out without immediately becoming a strict rule. The key point, however, is that we are always role models for our children, who copy our behaviour.