Category Archives: Technology
Digital Natives…
Children are being referred to as “Digital Natives”. This term means that they have never known a world without the serious influence of media and technology. There are no “before there was internet…” stories for you children, it has always existed. The good news is that there are a plethora of resources available now for your child’s spiritual development and you can have it at the click of a button! The real question is how do we deal with all the bad stuff? If you are a parent or guardian of a preteen, here are some simple guidelines to help you navigate this:
- Set boundaries. Your child has a right to their private space (i.e. journals), but when it comes to Internet and, more specifically, social networking, those are public forums for predators and inappropriate content and you have every right to monitor that. Let your child know what they are allowed to look at online and know their passwords to social networking sites. If they do not like those rules, then they will not have the privilege of using internet.
- Talk openly. When they ask, “Why?” and you say, “Cause’ I said so!” you have missed a golden opportunity to teach! From the beginning, be honest with your children about why you set boundaries and how you love them and are concerned for their safety. Will it guarantee they will cave in easy? No, but it sure helps to know that you respect them enough to be honest.
- Check consistently. It is one thing to say you will monitor their accounts; it is another thing to actually do it! Make sure you log in a few times each month to make sure all is well.
Social Media…
Sometimes I get surprised by the pictures a student is willing post or comments they are writing to write on facebook. Parents: Do you have access to your son or daughter’s facebook? If you are thinking “Oh no…they wont let me,” or “they freak out every time I ask.” Sounds like it’s time to delete their facebook or block it from your home with a program like net nanny. You won’t let them leave the house with people you don’t trust, why is the Internet any different?
Here is some great insight from my friend Greg Speck, “Give your kids privacy in non-public domains like a journal or private blog/file on the computer. They need that privacy, but not in a public venue because they do not have the emotional maturity, you what to trust your kids and that is great but that emotional maturity comes with time.”
This is wisdom, you should have access to their public venues; tweets, facebook, myspace, text messages, etc. You children may not understand it now but what they are writing and posting is forever. It is saved, logged, and easily duplicated.
Media Time-Out…
To the average Jr. High student it seems that it wouldn’t be an admittable problem, and there-in lies the problem. According to a recent survey performed by The Kaiser Family Foundation: “… 8-18 year-olds devote an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes (7:38) to using entertainment media across a typical day (more than 53 hours a week).” Where does your child compare on this scale? There are many different consequences that this media binge has caused, ranging from low self-esteem, depression, lower grades in school, and a toll on their healthy social development.
Here are some tips and advice to make sure that your son or daughter is staying spiritually, emotionally, and physically healthy in a technology driven world.
- Monitor their time on these devices. (e.g. iPods, personal gaming devices, cell phones, internet, movies, tv, etc.)
- Monitor what they are engaging in on these devices. Set parental controls on: cable, internet, phones, facebook, etc.
- Set one day aside each week to serve as a technology Sabbath. Nobody in the family is allowed to use personal electronics on these days. (This is a great day to promote family time as well)
- Talk to them about the difference between using technology as a tool and relying on it too heavily for social interaction.
- You as a parent should be engaging and dissecting what they are listening to / watching as well. This will help you in interacting with your son/daughter as well as help them decipher truth through a world that is rejecting the Gospel and its truths.
Bertie Holmgren
Beth Fontana
Brandon Early
Erin Blume
Josh Afram
Luke Uran
Teresa Hubbard
