Technology and Kids: Parenting in our Digital World

 

Today I’m going to start a series of blogs about how to parent our children in the digital age. Most of us are “digital immigrants” (born before 1990) and we are raising “digital natives.” As any immigrant population the new culture and language seems foreign to us, yet the digital world is our children’s “home.” It’s important that we learn the new language and culture so we can appropriately parent our children.

 

Computers, I-Pads, The Internet, Social Media -Facebook, Twitter, Computer Games, Hand Held Computer Games, Cell Phones, Smart Phones, IMing, Movies on Demand, Hundreds of TV channels… our society is bombarded with digital messages! What’s a parent to do?

 

When your child enters Kindergarten you don’t send them out the door on their own with directions how to walk to school. You walk with them, teach them how to cross the street, and make sure they get to school. When they’re a few years older you may allow them to walk with friends, and when even older they can walk on their own. When they turn 16 you don’t give them the keys to the car and send them out without any training or instructions. We know how to parent “off line,” yet sometimes we can be intimidated or fearful of parenting “on-line.” We need to parent “on-line” just as we parent “off-line.”

 

My Philosophy is simple:

• There is much that is good about using digital media, computers and the internet.
• There are some things to be concerned about too.
• There are many things you can do to protect your child from the dangers that do exist.
• We need to parent “on line” just as we do “off line.”

 

In the next couple of blogs I’ll break down the age groups and take a look at what is appropriate for each age group and maturity level.

 

Here’s a quick and simple overview:

• Know what your child is doing online
• Set an appropriate limit for total amount of screen time per day.
• Select age appropriate TV shows, movies, computer programs, video games, internet sites….
• Make sure there is time for physical play, social interaction and reading each day.