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How to deal with children's attachment to the TV and the Internet

Question

As Salamu alaykum. Please give some advice on how to deal with the fitnah of the tv and internet. We need to keep the kids busy with something so that we ourselves can do good and seek knowledge, but they immediately resort to internet and tv. If we try to get rid of the tv and internet in the house all at once, I'm afraid the nafs of the children will not accept this, and there may be bad consequences. Jazakum Allahu kharyan.

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

First of all, we advise the parents to prepare a useful program for the children through which they would memorize some of the Quran, learn some Islamic morals and so on; and enroll them in trustworthy centers and institutions that would help them in this regard.

Both the television and the Internet are a double-edged weapon that can be used for good and for evil. So, the children should be guided to watch the programs that achieve the benefits we have mentioned above. There is no harm in allowing them to watch some entertaining programs but this should be done under the supervision and guidance of the parents. The parents should take advantage of the children's attachment to such programs to make them watch the other educational programs through a kind of bargaining or threatening them of depriving them from watching their favorite programs if they do not watch the other programs as well. There is no doubt that there is moderation in this approach.

For more benefit, please refer to Fataawa 81723, 86237 and 90610.

Allaah knows best.

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