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Mom puts kids on "screen detox" and child jumps 5 reading levels
Her new rule in the house was the best choice this mom ever made!
Caryl Jane Espiritu
07.17.20

Technology has definitely helped a lot in various ways, making our lives as comfortable and convenient as we could ever imagine. However, there is a side to it that does not really go in favor of parents.

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Since the popularity of smartphones and tablets, children all over the world are being hooked on playing games and watching videos online. This is not a bad thing unless it becomes so addictive for them that their behavior gets affected as a result of constant tapping on their gadgets.

Excessive screen time has led to inattentiveness in children, making it hard for them to focus on their other learning activities such as schoolwork. Overly watching and playing games on their gadgets can also cause grumpiness and distraction, resulting in bad behavior towards other people.

Every parent asks these questions: How much screen time should I let my kid have? Should I even let them have screen time at all?

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One mom thinks it’s better to pull the plug altogether and let children enjoy their childhood without the use of gadgets.

Molly DeFrank believes that screen times doing more harm than good, especially to her little ones.

“It turns out that screens were doing to my children exactly what the studies claimed they were doing: cultivating distracted, grumpy and argumentative little people,” she shared in her website.

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Unsplash

The triggering moment for this mom is when she arrived at their home and all her kids would ask for are the gadgets, not even greeting her after hours of being away from her. It was at that time that the mom realized that she should do something to set things right.

“Not ‘Hi!’ Not ‘Mommy!!!’ Simply, ‘Hey, electronics gatekeeper. Gimme my next fix’,”- Molly shared further, expressing her frustration at what her kids have turned into.

She made a drastic change in their house rules and the results she got after implementing this new rule were quite astounding!

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Facebook

With five kids under the age of ten, Molly and her husband knew that the change was not going to be an easy one. In fact, they have prepared to see the worst!

As it turns out, they were right about their children disagreeing with their new rule wherein gadget use will be totally banned in their home. They were angry and rebellious for a brief moment, intent on getting their way. But their parents are astute in their decision and eventually, Molly and her husband saw a change that they thought was unachievable.

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Facebook

Molly was surprised at how easy it was for the kids to cope.

“Quitting was shockingly easy, surprisingly sustainable, and my nine-year-old daughter has told me on several occasions that she’s glad we’ve cut them out,” the mother shared.

Rather than scrolling and tapping away, the kids have learned to read books and they were hooked!

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Unsplash

Molly shared the incredible achievement online through her Facebook account. People online were amazed at the children’s transformation and were particularly captivated at seeing all five kids holding their own books and reading together in the same room. This scene is definitely every parent’s dream come true!

Molly DeFrank
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Molly DeFrank

She also shared how her kids decided to join her and her husband while they are both reading on the bed, instead of watching TV or trying to get them to give the gadgets.

“A few Saturdays into our screen detox, my kids woke up one by one and saw my husband and I reading in bed. They grabbed their own books and joined us. At restaurants, they bring a stack of books instead of propped iPads. My daughter has grown five reading levels in seven months,” Molly wrote on her Facebook post.

While Molly stands firm about her rule on completely banning gadgets, she also knows that this is not the absolute answer to the problem.

“Technology can of course be useful—in its right place. The key is making technology work for us, rather than the other way around.”

Now, that’s a great attitude that children can learn from! There might be no concrete answer to this problem, but we trust that all parents know what’s best for their children and that, in itself, is what’s important.

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