Psychologist at University of Indonesia: Banning Children from Using Gadgets Without Alternatives Can Disrupt Emotional Development
Jakarta — Rose Mini Agoes Salim, a senior professor at the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Indonesia, has cautioned parents that it is insufficient to simply ban children from accessing gadgets and using social media. Such restrictions, she contends, must be accompanied by attractive alternative activities to prevent children from constantly being drawn back to digital devices.
Rose emphasised that parents must consider other activities that keep children active and stimulated without relying on gadgets. “If they do not, children will certainly feel uncomfortable because they do not know what they should be doing, whilst they have already become accustomed to playing games on gadgets,” she explained.
Rose further stressed that prohibitions without explanation or alternative activities can affect children’s psychological condition. She believes that if parents continue to impose restrictions without proper approach, this could potentially impact the development of a child’s emotional intelligence. Additionally, children may feel reluctant to stay at home because they perceive they lack enjoyable activities.
“It would be good if, especially to prepare for the Lebaran break, parents and children work on a project together so the child does not become bored,” Rose suggested.
She provided an example of a simple activity that parents can undertake with their children, such as introducing a child to reptiles. “After that, the parent can help search for information about reptiles, and build a small habitat for the reptiles based on the information the parent has gathered,” she explained. “This becomes something challenging and the child will certainly not become bored doing this,” she added.
Bisma, an eight-year-old primary school student, shared his experience of not using gadgets regularly every day for the past six months. Bisma’s mother, Fitri (32), has restricted her son’s excessive access to gadgets. Consequently, Bisma is only permitted to use gadgets at weekends.