School vacations need not worry parents

What therefore children need is proper guidance from parents and elders on how to use electronic gadgets and on the Internet. Parents also need to negotiate with their children a certain set of rules, which should include how long they can play with electronic devices. This is important because it's almost impossible to stop them from using computers and mobile phones. Albeit, the in-built "kid mode" in many mobile phones and tablets can allow parents to prevent their children from veering into unwanted territory.

Since children tend to copy their parents, their role models, actions, parents should refrain from talking on mobile phones and keeping their eyes glued to tablets for long; they must also avoid watching TV for long hours. Instead, they should spend as much time as possible with their children, teaching them the valuable lessons of life and helping them with their homework.

Since children's normal routines are prone to change during vacations, parents should ask them to set a different timetable which could include doing housework, getting physical exercise and playing sports, pursuing their hobbies and doing holiday homework. For children who have abundant free time and relatively little homework during vacations, their parents can, for example, take them on hiking trips or make them play more outdoor games.

This will not only ensure children remain physically fit and focused on studies, but also leave them little time to play online games and chat on mobile phones.

These are just a few ways of making a child's vacation meaningful and healthy. Parents can surely think of other ways to keep their children away from mobile phones, tablets and the Internet during vacations and yet make their holidays interesting and worthwhile.

The author researches on child education at Beijing Normal University.