Digital parenting over the summer school holidays
Being a parent is one of the most rewarding experiences a person can have. But like all circumstances, it comes with a set of challenges of its own.
Today’s generation of children is growing up with different devices and advanced technologies that vary in practicality, depending on the user.
The digital world provides a slew of opportunities for us to undertake growth, further our knowledge and enhance our overall digital experience. After all, a healthy and safe digital existence creates a positive environment for everyone involved.
We’ve created a guide to keep you informed, help set the boundaries and maintain stability with your digital-life balance.
Enforce sensible screen time
Let’s start with the basics. Like all good things in life, moderation can be the key to enjoyment.
Using anything for the first time can be exciting, but it’s about providing an understanding of when (and where) is appropriate to use your device. And when it’s time to stop, enforcing these boundaries.
As your child’s desire to become independent develops, so will the urge to use their device at random. It’s important to be reasonable with any pre-negotiated restrictions, especially when social media is involved. If your child is already at that point, setting the ground rules early is crucial.
This includes helping them browse social media in a safe environment, which allows them to not only explore their active interests, but to do so safely. Whether it’s for two hours after school, or a reasonable time before going to bed, setting expectations will help remove any potential doubt.
Stay connected within your child’s network
As the enforcer of rules in your child’s life, it’s important to be fair but firm. Children are curious by their own nature and tend to explore the boundaries if given the opportunity.
When these difficulties arise, having a relationship within your child’s existing network will help soften the blow when having those tough conversations. Helping them understand the potential risks is part of the challenge, and communicating with those closest to them outside of home certainly helps.
Practical moves in these situations include having your child’s friends on social media, or even a separate group conversation between parents. This would allow others in the same situation to navigate through the potential dangers and to make similarly informed decisions.
You should feel good about the boundaries that are being set, and having the ability to compare your rules with other parents can be an appropriate gauge when setting limits with usage.
Practice parental controls
Remember that time when your parents took away took the television remote to make you do your homework? We certainly do.
While it’s easy to use scare tactics to enforce rules, cooperating with your child will lead to a better outcome, especially if you aren’t using their device against them. Just remember the rules and politely enforce them when needed.
Whether it’s no devices at the dinner table, or avoiding use after a particular time, be consistent to avoid any lapses or unnecessary changes of behaviour. If they do break the rules, practise more reasonable penalties like time-outs or hands-on activities like household chores.
Depending on the device, you may be able to utilise the parental control capability that is already built-in, which helps enforce time restrictions and any potential lockouts.
Given that the majority of device usage will be at home, another discrete way to monitor your child’s browsing is by simply having their screen time confined to a shared space, for example a lounge room.
Bedtime over screen time
Helping your child understand the importance of a good night’s sleep will not only create balance, but healthy habits that will create consistency in their teenage years.
Although everyone’s relationship with sleep is different, our need for rest, as well as uninterrupted sleep remains the same. As children, we all hated going to bed, but getting pillow time will ensure that your child experiences growth with their learning, behaviour and overall wellbeing.
Create a nightly routine that will establish familiarity with your child’s bedtime. Whether it be reading, listening to music or an old fashioned bedtime story, avoiding devices is crucial to getting sleep.
Guide the way, digitally
When facing resistance, it’s easy to let your child learn a lesson the hard way. But as a parent, it’s good to be a role model, and practice the behaviour you’d like them to mirror as an example.
Acknowledge your child when they’ve done something good, just as you would with any negative behavioural patterns. Like all positive relationships, working through adversity together creates a stronger bond and will help nurture the connection that you already have.
Take the lead and encourage any existing interests that could be explored with friends and family.
If you’d like to learn more about protecting you and your family from identity theft, join our Privacy and Online Safety group on Facebook.
