A man puts a cone dog collar on his 5-year-old granddaughter to stop her from playing with her cell phone, and the effect divides Chinese social media.

A grandfather who fitted his five-year-old granddaughter with a dog cone to prevent her from accessing her phone for too long has been praised for his ingenuity by viewers on Chinese social media.

A man from Xi’an, central Shaanxi province, came up with a solution on December 7 when he noticed the girl persistently playing games on her phone while driving.

Inside the car was a new dog cone, the type typically used to prevent dogs from licking their wounds after an injury or surgery, and he carefully wrapped it around her neck.

The girl’s mother, whose surname was Ewan, said: “At first the girl was very resistant because she couldn’t see her phone and she knew the collar was for dogs. Even though it was, she was still very much against it.”

Her daughter’s reluctance was captured in a viral online video. The video shows the girl sitting in a car with a pink cone-shaped dog collar around her neck, holding a cell phone and refusing to get out of the car.

When her grandfather finally removed her phone and led her out of the car, she protested with a sad look on her face. This is for dogs! ”

“No, this is something I bought especially for you. It’s pink. It’s yours,” her mother humorously reassured her.

Ewan later revealed that this approach had been surprisingly effective in curbing her daughter’s “addiction.”

“For the next two days, whenever she wanted to use the phone, I put the collar on her. After a few days of wearing it, she didn’t want the phone anymore, so I don’t use it anymore.” Yuan told BaiLu Video.

This creative solution entertained a large online audience and sparked a wide discussion about its application.

“This dog’s collar is also pink. Didn’t the old man prepare it on purpose?” someone commented.

“In fact, you can see your phone even if you hold it a little high with this collar on… so I would recommend it to young people who have neck problems due to phone addiction,” said another. .

Not everyone is a fan of this unusual tactic, with one saying: It would be more effective if adults lead by example and don’t use phones. ”

“This is for laughs and not very practical. To get kids away from the phone, you need to distract them and develop their interest,” said another.

Chinese parents are creatively incorporating other pet accessories to educate and protect their children.

In October 2022, a technology blogger recommended the use of GPS-equipped pet collars to track and keep children safe, gaining widespread support among online viewers.