The COVID-19 pandemic has made virtual connections over the internet an intrinsic part of our lives. As people in India stay glued to their gadgets, parent magazine ParentCircle has come up with an initiative to ensure a much needed break from gadgets, both for parents and their children. The second edition of ‘GadgetFreeHour’ will be held on November 20, which is marked as World Children’s Day, between 7:30 pm and 8.00 pm, and families can participate right from their own homes.
As part of the event, families who participate will disconnect and switch off their gadgets for one hour, and in that duration, spend time with their children and rediscover the pleasure of each other’s company in a fun way. The Tamil Nadu Government Education Department has extended its support for this initiative, urging people from all disciplines, including teachers and parents, to take a step back and reconnect with their families by going gadget-free in that one hour. Celebrities including actors, politicians, sportspersons, corporate leaders well as school principals have also lauded the initiative and urged people to follow it.
“To have a strong trusting relationship with your child, you need to have a clear line of communication and connection. For this to happen, parents need to spend quality time with children, free from distractions, especially gadgets and screens,” says Nalina Ramalakshmi, Founder and Managing Director of ParentCircle. She further adds, “One of the first steps for parents to build a strong connection with their children is to spend quality with them, even if it is for a few minutes a day.
This is the second edition of the initiative, which stems from the fact that the pandemic has led to parents and children cocooned in a 'connected' world of their own and not spending enough time with each other.
In the 2019 edition, ParentCircle had over a million parents and over 58,000 schools participating in the event. This year it is set to break the record by having over 2 million participants from all disciplines of work. The initiative has also gained traction on social media, showing 10.4 million impressions already.
ParentCircle was started in 2011 as a parenting magazine and the organisation aims towards building confidence in parents to raise happy, healthy, confident, compassionate children.