The unfortunate incident has happened in Kerala's Thrissur district
The police says overheating of the battery can be a reason for the explosion to have happened. The child, whose right palm and face suffered injuries, died on spot.
While the news has broken our hearts, it also brings to attention a critical issue which is how to make sure our kids are safe while using mobile phones.
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95% of teenagers own smartphones: Research study
Mobile phones have become a necessity and after the pandemic it has become an important part in a kid's life.
From studies to gaming, the world around kids seems to have been captured inside a mobile phone.
A survey done on American kids by the Pew Research Center, found that 95% of the teenagers own a smartphone. The scenario among Indian kids might not be much different especially after the pandemic when schools and colleges had to be shut down and online education started to keep the teaching learning process continuing.
Since mobile phones are unavoidable, here are a few safety tips parents should know.
Set mobile phone schedule
In order to make sure that your kid is using a mobile phone without compromising on other activities you need to prepare a mobile phone schedule and always check if it is being followed properly or not.
A proper schedule will keep your child away from indulgence. It will also cut down the screen timing to a large extent.
Set the dos and don'ts clearly
There are several don'ts and few obvious dos to be done when we give mobile phones to kids.
Discourage your child to use mobile phones while it is on charge. Kids, and several adults too, keep using mobile phones even while they are on charge. This might interfere with the normal charging process and the phone may need more time to get charged and in the process might get overheated. Excessive heat in phones during charging can cause explosions as it was seen in the recent accident.
Encourage your child to discuss their experience with you
Do not browse through the search history of the mobile phones sneakily and instead have a healthy discussion with your child about the internet experience.
This way they are more likely to open up to you on the issues they face over the internet. Cyberbullying is another serious concern these days which parents need to be careful about.
Keep them away from unsuitable content
Use parental controls in the phone so that the child is not exposed to contents that are meant for adults and those above 18 years of age.
The Internet is a vast place with lots of content--both good and bad. It is important for the parents to keep an eye on what sort of content their kids consume.
Do not be harsh on them
Undoubtedly, kids react when anything dear to them is restricted. So, when you notice your child is indulging more in mobile phones, help them understand the demerits of it. Do not shout or scold them.
Try to distract them from phones and engage them in some other fun activities. In order to make it more enjoyable, be a part of the activity yourself.