With the
pandemic and the resuming of school this past September, tech is more
omnipresent than ever. It’s a classic double-edged sword in that it enables all
of us – both parents and kids – to do so much, but the costs of dependence are
only becoming known, and, to many parents, feared.
With
mind-blowing digital wizardry comes anxiety, especially if it concerns
parenting. The modern day version of the feckless parent who leaves the kid to
watch MTV or inappropriate cable is now a parent who, often unwillingly, allows
children to become addicted to tech-as-babysitter. But fear not: the staff at Scholastic offers some
helpful tips to make tech your friend, and it’s not all that hard. It just
takes some diligence. And it can be fun.
Says
Scholastic: “To teach safety and to benefit from technology's wealth
of resources, you can use the same parenting skills that work in other areas of
life – trusting your intuition, seeking out reliable support, and setting
behavioral expectations. These are the main components to raising kids in the
technological age. Whether you've just mastered the art of text messaging or
you have yet to allow your kids to surf online, you can get plugged in.”
READ MORE: Making friends with technology (sort of)
They cite
the popular “no devices at the dinner table” rule. Also, obviously, the “family
eats together” rule. Also noted: establishing and keeping to boundaries and
checking in and educating yourself about what your kids are learning and
spending leisure time on, with devices you likely purchased.
Scholastic likens digital supervision to being
as important as when you supervise your children to first learn to walk, to use
the stove, or to ride a two-wheeler. How to accomplish that supervision? Tech
tools, rating systems, and, if necessary, counseling are all available.
And
“tackle tech together.” Scholastic suggests
ideas like starting a family blog, hosting a video game tournament or making
music mixes to which everyone contributes. Can tech actually bring a family
together? With a little effort, yes.
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