How to Reduce Children's Gadget Use During the Eid Holiday Break

Reducing children’s use of gadgets is not something that can be done instantly and easily. It requires commitment from parents to ensure children have other activities besides playing with gadgets, especially during the long Eid holiday period.

Previously, the government through the Ministry of Communication and Digital (Komdigi) has tightened rules on digital access for children under 16 years old through Ministerial Regulation Number 9 of 2026. However, this regulation requires full support from the smallest unit of society, namely the family.

Professor of the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Indonesia, Rose Mini Agoes Salim, or familiarly known as Bunda Romi, stated that the role of the family is crucial in implementing activities that can reduce children’s gadget dependency.

According to Prof. Romi, simply prohibiting or taking gadgets away from children’s hands will not be effective. Children will instead feel confused and frustrated if there are no other activities done together.

“Parents need to create alternative activities. If children are just asked to stop using gadgets without any other activities, they will be confused about what to do,” said Romi in Jakarta.

For parents who both work, Prof. Romi suggests that supervision can be delegated to trusted individuals. However, parents must still prepare a “daily programme” that must be followed by the child and the caregiver.

She emphasised that the physical presence of parents must be accompanied by emotional involvement. “Don’t just sit physically, but also provide certain stimulation. That will also be challenging for children,” she added.

This step aligns with the initiative of the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen), which is campaigning for the #OneQualityHour movement. This movement aims to provide distraction-free digital time to build emotional bonds between parents and children.

In the end, gadget use for education is still allowed as long as it is under strict supervision. However, direct stimulation remains the main key to early childhood development that cannot be replaced by virtual interactions.