Gabrielle F.

Change Now Before It's Too Late! by Gabrielle F.

There's a classic British saying "penny wise and pound foolish". This idiom means that you focus on the little things in front of you, but then you miss the bigger picture. Like say for instance you buy cheap clothing because you get to save up a couple of bucks. Yet, since it's not that expensive, then the clothing might be poor quality, which makes you have to buy more clothes (Landes). Or another example of people being "penny wise and pound foolish" is when parents are on their mobile devices just to get entertained for a bit and have time away from the kids, but what they don't realize is that most of the time they turn out to be on their phones for long periods of time. Doing this, parents tend to leave out their children. And since children are left alone most of the time, then children might become depressed. Yet, if parents around the world, change their actions and start to pay attention to their children, then their children will live a more happy life and start to be friendlier. Plus, parents and families can spend more quality time together, which can also lead to families building better relationships. So worried parents should stop being hypocrits by saying that kids should limit their time on mobile devices when the real problem is that parents aren't managing their own usage of mobile devices when they should!

       If parents are always on their mobile devices then the children that they have will get left out. With kids being lonely almost all the time then they also have a higher chance of being mentally impacted later on in their lifetime. Plus, most parents can't solve this problem since most of the time they don't even know that this problem is even happening because of course they're on their phone, not taking care . Also it's really hard for children at a younger age to say what is on their mind directly to their own parents because they donʻt know what their parents are going to say back. So dealing with this is hard especially when you donʻt know itʻs happening.

Though, if parents do start managing their time well when on mobile devices then, children will be just more cheerful in life because their parents are simply paying attention to them. Plus, making kids more cheerful or happy also makes them more appealing to others; it makes them friendlier. This helps with making friends with other kids around their age, especially at school.

Another bonus outcome to parents limiting or managing their time when on mobile devices can lead them to spending more quality time with the ones they love. Because, if parents are always on their phones or mobile devices that means that they would rather spend time looking at a bright screen than spending time with their beloved family. And when you look at it, phones have apps on them that only make you entertained for only a little while. Instead you could be making memories with your loved ones that you can look back on in the future.

But some people think that parents are not the problem and the kids should limit THEIR own time when on mobile devices. But when you think about it, what happens when the children do manage their usage of mobile devices? What will they do in the meantime? Most likely they will want to spend time with family. But say if their parents are on their phones all the time then what will happen to the kids! No matter how much you deny, the facts are out there. A study conducted by Dr. Jenny S. Radesky which studies parent-child interactions, had 55 different groups of parents (with their children) at fast food restaurants. They wanted to see what the parents would do in this situation but the results were devastating. Because almost 70% of the parents pulled out their phones straight away, only looking down from their phones for a short time period. The results were really saddening, though this study did give out facts that were telling us that mobile devices distract us from what we are supposed to be doing. And adults should be more aware of this problem so the next generation will be wonderful in the future (Neighmond).

Though, if nobody sees this problem as a threat then our community will start to fall apart. But if people start to change now then children will be happier. Plus, if parents do want to do the best for their children then they also need to make the best choices.