Parents often ask: how do I keep my children safe? How do I get them off the computer? Using technology has become such a dominant feature of our lives, yet our children probably know more, use it more confidently and in ways we haven’t yet tried ourselves. Here are some ideas that can help parents support their children in a fast changing landscape.
Be interested – ask them about what they are viewing, posting, playing and sharing online.
Stick to usual boundaries – agree limits about how long, what sites you are happy for them to visit, what information they can share with others, enforce the rules like you would other family rules.Movie Fifty Shades Darker (2017)
Communicate – discuss safety, public versus private information, and check with them if they seem uncomfortable about discussing things, what do they fear, who are they chatting to.
Access – decide if you are happy with them using phones, laptops etc in their room, or would you rather they are all used in public areas of the home?
Modelling – are you using devices yourself while eating, watching tv or chatting to others? It becomes increasingly difficult to regulate ‘screen time’ when phones can be used as maps, for reading the paper, getting a recipe, checking school term dates… but think about how this comes across to the children. Find time to do things that involve you all together in activities, maybe even leave the phones out of sight!
