Parenting Times: Challenges Of Parenting In The Digital Age

Monday, October 23, 2017

Challenges Of Parenting In The Digital Age

In the past parents worried over excessive telephone use by teenagers chatting over the phone but that is the least of parents worries in the digital age that we now live in. Kids with cellphones going online is like a bomb waiting to explode. To make sure this "bomb" does not explode, as parents living in the digital age, we have to make sure that we EDUCATE, EDUCATE, EDUCATE our children.

This infographic from the Family Orbit blog recommends that parents do the following with our comments in blue

Monitor text messages and multimedia messages (Agreed and that includes whatsapp messages FB private messages etc. While it is good to give your teen some privacy, it is no advisable to let them have free reign)
Blog your teen from using apps you disapprove of (Agreed. Again, this comes down to monitoring and making sure you know what your child is doing on his cellphone on the internet online)
Regularly review pictures and movies (Agreed. Review those music videos too and YouTube videos that kids are so fond of watching)
Keep computer usage in a common area in the house and set time limits on usage (Agreed. Set reasonable time limits on usage and this includes when your kid should stop using the phone for the night. Usage after a certain agreed upon hour should not be allowed and getting up to use the phone in the middle of the night is a no-no! Have a family meeting and set AGREED UPON time limits and what to do if your teen breaks those rules)
Consider an occasional screen free day or week for the whole family to participate in (Agreed. Most importantly, make sure you keep up to your side of the bargain too!)

Do your kids have a smart phone? Do they go online using their smart phone? Do they chat online with their friends? How much time do they spend online? Do they use the phone till late in the night? What sites do they go on? Are they on social media? Do they have a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media accounts? What do they post online? Do you know? These are some of the questions you as a parent must ask yourself as a parent in the digital age.