Parenting is difficult and the dawn of the digital era hasn’t made things any easier. As kids get exposed to all kinds of information through the mass media and the internet, it becomes very difficult for parents to instill important values in their children. However, even with these challenges, it’s important to do your best.
Below are a few tips you can use to parent effectively in the digital era:
Talk with Your Kids
Talking with your children is the first rule of parenting 101. It’s important to create a good relationship between you and your children. Let your children feel free to come to you with anything that bothers them.
In addition to this, try to make an attempt to know what your kids are up to. One-on-one conversations during dinner time are a must.
Use Parental Control
There are many parents out there who have access to parental control features in tech devices yet they rarely use them. You cannot keep your eyes on children all the time. As technology advances, you need to advance with it.
Parental control allows you to restrict access to inappropriate content for your children. It is one arrow in the quiver that most parents ignore yet it’s so effective.
Explore Positive Things
The internet is not all bad you know. There are many positive things from the convenience it gives to the plethora of information it offers to being able to shop at different places. As a parent, you need to understand the positive side of the internet and let your kids take advantage of it.
Follow Your Kids on Social Media
We know that a lot of kids may not feel comfortable having their parents as friends on Facebook or other social media platforms. However, you must insist. It’s just a simple step so you are aware of what your kid is up to online.
Keep Up with Technology
Technology is so dynamic that it keeps changing all the time. Kids learn new technology very fast and if you want to be a step ahead in your parenting, you need to keep up with all these changes in the tech world too.
Set a Good Example
Kids look up to their parents for many things. You are the first role model your child will grow up aspiring to be like and if you set the right example, your child will follow it.
Don’t preach water and drink wine. If you insist on just three hours of TV on a school night, for example, don’t stay all night watching TV yourself.
Set Rules
How your children interact with devices determines the kind of exposure they will have online. It’s not bad to have your kids use the latest technology but there needs to be a limit.
Make sure rules are in place. For example, you can insist that your children will have no access to the internet until all the homework is done. Create mobile-free zones in your house in favor of one-on-one conversations.
2/27/18 Yesterday my youngest had a 104 temperature after school. Poor thing had to of felt awful all day but didn't tell anyone.
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