Has your child’s cell phone become an extension of her hand? Between talking, texting, tweeting, taking pictures, sending emails, and playing games, kids have access to an endless amount of entertainment with their cell phones. This can get exceedingly frustrating for parents who rarely see more than the top of their children’s heads. Concerned parents are finding it more and more difficult to get their kids to pay attention to anything besides their phones.

For those who are encountering resistance, here are 10 ways to get your child to put down her cell phone.

• Go to a movie – Cell phone use in movie theaters is severely frowned upon, so offer to take your child to a movie of their choice, but only if they hand over the phone first. This way the kid gets to watch a good movie and not annoy the other patrons.
• Other activities – Get your kids involved in other activities that force them to put down the phone. Sewing, painting or playing a musical instrument are some examples of things to get children involved with where they can use their hands in other ways. You can’t play the flute and text at the same time.
• Sports – Another way to get the cell phone out of kids’ hands is to get them involved in sports. Coaches are not going to allow kids to take their phones with them on the field and play. Children in sports will be forced to put the phone down and get some exercise.
• Lay down the law – If none of these ideas work, you may just have to lay down the law. You’re the parent and you make the rules, so establish some guidelines and enforce them. For instance, make a rule that there will be no cell phones at the dinner table. Have a basket on the counter where all phones are placed during dinner.

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