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Embracing tech in a healthful way



Tech can be a friend to a family, here’s how

Tech can be a friend to a family, here’s how


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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