How to Reduce Your Child's Mobile and Junk Food Habit
· 4 min readहिंदी में पढ़ें
The short answer
In Ekantik Vartalap, Premanand Ji Maharaj advises parents not to crush a child's enthusiasm with total bans: allow some play and treats within limits, link small rewards to good habits, and make healthier versions of favourite foods at home. Be a friend, not only a ruler — sit with your child, ask what is on their mind, gently look at their phone together and explain what is harmful. Above all, improve your own habits first, because children learn most from what parents do.
You hand over the phone "just for ten minutes" so you can finish cooking. An hour later, there are tears and shouting when you try to take it back. At the shop, it's chocolates and packaged drinks; at dinner, it's a refusal to eat anything homemade. Many parents feel exhausted, guilty and unsure — Am I being too strict? Too soft? Have I already lost this battle?
You haven't. This exact worry was brought to Ekantik Vartalap by a mother whose children chanted with her yet still pulled toward mobile phones and outside food. The guidance she received — and that Maharaj Ji repeats in other satsangs — is warm, balanced and surprisingly practical.
Why do children cling to mobiles and junk food?
Maharaj Ji's first response is reassuring: let them be children. Childhood is naturally playful and a little unpredictable, he says, and children's eating and play shouldn't be heavily restricted. What parents need to watch is that they don't drift into what is truly harmful 36:29.
At the same time, he is frank that the problem has grown because phones are often handed to children from a very young age. Games and reels, he notes, have deeply affected many young children 9:14. So the pull your child feels is real — and it is not a sign that you are a bad parent.
Should I ban the phone and outside food completely?
Not suddenly, and not as your only tool. In Ekantik Vartalap, Maharaj Ji explains that to bring anyone along — a child, a student, or even your own mind — you first need to be on their side for a while. If you crush someone's enthusiasm completely, you lose your hold on them 36:29.
He shares how he does this with the saints in his own care: now and then he lets everyone enjoy something special — kheer, puri, an outing — but always in a wholesome way 36:29. He suggests the same with children: "Do two rounds of naam-jap, and today we'll get you this, or take you there." A reasonable wish can be met; something genuinely harmful gets a firm no 36:29.
On food, he is practical. Much packaged food today is adulterated, so keep children on home food as far as you can, and make healthier versions of what they crave — for example, blend ripe mango with milk at home instead of buying a packaged drink 36:29.
The Gita describes this kind of balance: moderation in eating and recreation, and regularity in sleep and waking, removes sorrow (Gita 6.17).
How do I talk to my child about the phone?
This is where Ekantik Vartalap is most emphatic. Maharaj Ji says parents should behave like friends with their children. When parents speak only in commanding words, a child's heart moves away — out of fear or resentment — and they start doing as they please behind your back 37:50.
Instead, he advises: sit with them, ask what's on their mind, look at their phone together, and explain which paths are harmful and which are good. Tell them, "If anything like this ever happens, talk to me." The child should feel, "My mummy and papa are my friends; I can't hide anything from them" 37:50. He suggests having these conversations privately and gently, explaining slowly how a habit can harm them 9:14.
He also warns against harshness. If a child fails, he says, hug them instead of getting angry — otherwise the child may feel that friends mock them and parents are angry too, and fall into despair 37:50. Scolding and punishment only teach children to hide.
What if my own phone habits are the problem?
This may be the hardest — and most important — part. Your own conduct is the biggest lesson your child will ever receive 37:50. Maharaj Ji gives a plain example: children copy what parents do. If parents fall into bad habits, children pick them up 37:50.
He asks parents to first improve their own conduct and connect their own hearts to devotion, and to pray that their children grow up with pure thoughts, good health and progress in both spiritual and worldly life 9:14. Children watch their parents very closely 9:14. The Gita says the same: whatever a respected person does, others follow (Gita 3.21). In a home, the respected person is you.
He also reminds parents that money and education are not enough; children need your time, and your presence can do them more good than money 37:50.
A simple family plan for mobile and food habits
- Fix phone times, not just bans: Agree on when and for what the phone is used — for example, after homework, for a set time, in a shared room 36:29.
- Use gentle trade-offs: "First a little chanting or reading, then your treat" — for wholesome wishes only 36:29.
- Make the healthier version at home: Fresh fruit drinks, homemade snacks, and mostly home meals 36:29.
- Have a weekly friendly talk: Sit together, look at the phone together, and ask what they watch and feel — without anger 37:509:14.
- Add a small spiritual habit: A few minutes of naam-jap and a story of God, then study and play 8:46.
- Change your own habit first: Keep your phone away at meals and family time 37:50.
Maharaj Ji sums up the balance well: children need both worldly education and spiritual values, so give a little time to naam-jap, God's stories and satsang, and the rest to study and play 8:46.
If you also want to work on your own screen time, read how to break mobile addiction. For older children who feel misunderstood, see what to do when parents don't understand you.
Be patient — with your child and with yourself. Habits change slowly, but a child who feels loved and understood at home will, step by step, choose what is good.
From the Bhagavad Gita
Bhagavad Gita 3.21
यद्यदाचरति श्रेष्ठस्तत्तदेवेतरो जनः ।स यत्प्रमाणं कुरुते लोकस्तदनुवर्तते ॥
Whatever a respected person does, others follow; whatever standard they set, the world follows.
Full meaning of Gita 3.21 →Bhagavad Gita 6.17
युक्ताहारविहारस्य युक्तचेष्टस्य कर्मसु ।युक्तस्वप्नावबोधस्य योगो भवति दुःखहा ॥
For one who is moderate in eating and recreation, balanced in work, and regular in sleep and waking, yoga removes all sorrow.
Full meaning of Gita 6.17 →Hear it from the source
Ekantik Vartalap clips this article draws on, starting at the relevant moment.
36:29Source for this answerबच्चे मोबाइल चलाना और बाहर के खाने की बहुत जिद करते हैं, उनको कैसे सुधारें ?From 36:29 · 5 min
37:50Source for this answerमाता पिता अपने बच्चों के साथ कैसा व्यवहार करें ?From 37:50 · 3 min
9:14Source for this answerआजकल के बच्चों को नशे और गंदी आदतों से रोकने के लिए हम क्या कर सकते हैं?From 9:14 · 3 min
8:46Source for this answerबच्चों को कौनसा ज्ञान दें ?From 8:46 · 4 min
Frequently asked questions
Should I completely ban the phone for my child?
Ekantik Vartalap suggests balance rather than total bans. Maharaj Ji says children's eating and play shouldn't be over-restricted, and that crushing a child's enthusiasm completely makes it harder to guide them. Allow limited, supervised use for what is appropriate, and firmly say no only to what is genuinely harmful.
My child throws tantrums for chocolates and packaged drinks. What can I do?
Maharaj Ji suggests making healthier versions at home — for example, blending ripe mango with milk instead of a packaged drink — and keeping children mostly on home food. Occasionally fulfilling a reasonable wish is fine; you can also link it to a good habit, like a little chanting or study first.
Is it right to check my child's phone?
In Ekantik Vartalap, Maharaj Ji does advise parents to look at their children's phones — but as a friend, not a policeman. Sit together, talk, and explain which paths are harmful and which are good. The goal is that your child feels, 'My parents are my friends; I can tell them anything,' so they come to you if something goes wrong.
How do I bring spiritual values into my child's life without forcing them?
Keep it small and natural, Maharaj Ji suggests: a little naam-jap, a few stories of God and some satsang, and the rest of the time for study and play. Children need both worldly education and spiritual values. Most of all, they absorb what they see you doing.
Have a question of your own?
Ask Saarthi in Hindi, English or Hinglish and get an answer grounded in the satsangs, with sources.
This article was written with the help of AI (Claude) from the satsang sources linked above, which are auto-transcribed — please listen to the original for exact words. Saarthi is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by Shri Premanand Ji Maharaj, his ashram or the Bhajan Marg channel. Not a substitute for medical, legal or mental-health advice.
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