MOM I LOST THE NET!

Two adults in smart working, two children who do remote teaching, the little girl who follows workshops, English course and videos of the nursery teachers, the grandparents who would like to video call their grandchildren 24/24 h, the TV series to be recovered and the podcasts and audio books to listen to, friends' birthdays to celebrate at a distance, Nicco and Edo's soccer video lessons and my pilates lessons. Not to mention the tutorials for making bread and pizza !!! And the list could be potentially endless.

I have often talked with friends and parents (and with you who read me) about the right age to give their children or grandchildren the first smartphone; it is a topic on which I have reasoned over the last few months with reference to Niccolò who is almost 9 years old and which today, due to the historical and social circumstances in which we find ourselves in spite of ourselves, has become even more important and pressing. We cannot deny that the quarantine we are experiencing has brought our children closer to technological devices. It is not only the duties (work or study) that connect us to each other but it is also the needs for sociality that I have never felt so strong in my children.

It was touching to see Edo struggling with his first video call as a "big child" with his favorite classmate, he asked me to be able to lock himself in his bedroom to guarantee his privacy and, eavesdropping (I know you shouldn't but we are talking about a 7-year-old child, it is my duty to check and make sure that everything is fine), I heard "I miss school so much", "you don't know how much I miss!": it was hard, they made me a huge tenderness . Niccolò, on the other hand, receives video calls from his friends from school or football almost every evening, it is a way to feel close even when unfortunately you are not close.
A couple of nights ago Bianca Zoe asked me: "Mom, don't I make the video call with my mates?" "You know, love, this is a bit of a grown-up thing!" "But I also want to talk to friends!" - how to blame her?

As I have told you several times, I do not demonize the use of technology, but I believe it can be a resource for the little ones as long as the parent sets rules and rules of behavior, evaluating needs and skills related to age. Devices cannot replace movement, free and creative play, they must be used for a limited time and never at certain times of the day (as soon as you wake up, when you have lunch or dinner and before going to bed). Do not forget to check and monitor, it is right to empower and grant small spaces of freedom to a 9-year-old child who plays to feel like a boy but the eyes and ears of parents must always remain on high alert to ensure safety and conscious use.
What is certain is that, in a family of 5, it is necessary to organize the "quantity" of devices and the "quality" of the Wi-Fi network which could suffer a certain overload (an unpleasant event while in a conference call with the boss and the boss of the boss ...). Hence the ironic title of my post! Last week the home connection died just 5 minutes before my Facebook live, Murphy's law of working mothers on the web. Moreover, it is complicated at this juncture to be able to "lend" the phone of a parent in smart working to their children, I find it nice (and supportive for my child) to leave him the opportunity to call his grandparents whenever he feels the need without having to wait for the end my or my father's working day.

From the beginning of the quarantine we allowed Niccolò to use a smartphone with simple and intuitive functions that we keep at home for emergencies in which we downloaded the app that his class uses for online teaching (for frontal lessons he uses the computer but the phone is convenient for taking pictures of homework and sharing it with the teachers). We have chosen the TIM Junior offer perfect for children aged 8 and up and which can be activated on new rechargeable TIM lines without any activation cost: it was the uncle - the nerd of the family - who gave Niccolò the TIM Junior Pack which for € 39 for 6 months it offers 10 Giga, unlimited chat, 2 TIM friend numbers (parents and / or grandparents!), 200 minutes, 200 SMS, the protection of TIM Safe Web and the games of TIM I love games. Alternatively, the offer is available with the same contents in the monthly version for € 7.99 per month.

As for the other apps and functions, go ahead for music and some games suitable for your age, fun for sure but in total safety. In the wide TIM I love games catalog Niccolò chooses Uno (the famous card game but in electronic version), games dedicated to football and sport and those of cars and motorcycles (my father and I have always categorically forbidden games in which weapons of any kind are used or there is fighting). We do not allow the use of social networks or chats but only the app used by the class for video calls. Youtube is allowed with the application of necessary filters and blocks. In fact, the TIM Junior offers include the protection of TIM Safe Web: browsing is automatically protected from web threats such as malicious and phishing sites, the activation of paid services is blocked and just download the TIM Protect App to use the precious Parental Control function, to be customized as you prefer, to block unwanted apps, monitor the use of social networks, limit the time children spend online and manage geolocation.

If the choice falls on the six-monthly pack, at the end of the first 6 months, the offer automatically continues at € 7.99 per month with the same contents. Alternatively, it is possible to buy back the pack for another 6 months at the same price.
In addition, with TIM UNICA, if you also have TIM at home with a fixed offer, the Giga of TIM Junior become unlimited.
Not bad right?
And how are you organizing yourself with connections and technological devices?