Photo: Freepic

DHAKA, March 22, 2025 (BSS) - Robiul (pseudonym), a resident of the capital city, is an income tax lawyer by profession. He is blessed with two children. The first child is eight-year-old boy and the second one is six-year-old girl. The first child is regular in study, drawing and sports. The crisis is with the second child.

She used to talk very little in her first three years. At first, her parents took it lightly, but gradually their anxiety increased. Later, finding no solution, Rabiul and his wife took the child to a pediatrician. The pediatrician examined the girl and find that she has difficulty in speaking. She, however, looks at her mobile phone all the time. 

Now the question is, is your child addicted to smartphones? The problem of smartphone addiction has been going on for a long time. First of all, smartphones are now a part of life. There is no excuse to remove it abruptly, but it is not natural for a smartphone to take up all your time. While it is very much unnatural for a child to use it in a hurry.

Before Corona, the number of child smartphones users was small. But after Corona, it has grown; it has grown out of necessity. Now, necessity has become a simple and natural form. But there is a horror hidden behind this simple and natural form. 

A recent study on children in Bangladesh, 2024 found that about 86 percent of preschool children are addicted to smartphones. Of these, 29 percent have severe smartphone addiction that reduced their productivity and hindered flourishing latent talent. While only 14 percent of children use smartphones for study purposes. It also showed that 4 out of 10 mothers are not aware of their child's smartphone addiction.

The research said only the 14 percent of students were able to prevent them from using smartphones for other purposes other than studying. The use of the modern communication device also held them to open new windows towards raising both capacity and productivity. 

Again, the 29 percent of students whose smartphone addiction is severe are able to control it. They can gradually eliminate this addiction through various activities. For this, it is necessary to shift the students' attention elsewhere. This is not an easy task, but it is possible. 

The matter is that today's parents are more busy than ever. The idea of a joint family is broken and single family is growing up; as a result of which there is no extra person in the family. With few people, the children have to do something in a short time. Even if they want to, they do not always get up. Then the child is forced to bring the smartphone.

To put it bluntly, the children are unsafe. Starting from the family, they are not safe with relatives, friends, teachers and distant relatives. The reports in the media every day are a glare example to this end. Thus, the child considers the smartphone to be his own to spend time lone.

When the child focuses his attention on some other activity, the smartphone addiction will gradually decrease. After determining the age of the child, his activity will have to be determined according to his age.

To this end, cultural activities like drawing, music, outdoor sports and gardening can create scope for metal recreation of the children. In a nutshell, the role of the parents is very important to stay connected with children's activities. By doing this, children will become more active or productive and their smartphone addiction will reduce gradually.