Parent Sessions: Social Media & Balanced Tech Use

Be the Parent: Ultimately you are in charge; you make the decisions and you set the boundaries - you should expect your child to behave the same online & offline e.g.  you would not want your child to talk to a stranger on the street; therefore, he or she should not engage with strangers online.

• Be involved: Monitor usage (perhaps by sharing passwords or being “friended” by your child), do spot-checks, be part of discussions - online & offline.

  • Communicate: The best online safety strategy is to talk to your child. Talk about how other people around the world are dealing with social media, talk about your experiences, talk about your child's day.

  • Be a role model: If you don't have a balanced lifestyle, nor will your child. If you over-use technology, so will your child.

  • Educate yourself: explore devices, try out apps (and check minimum age requirements) so you can make informed decisions to support your child.

• Have rules & expectations: Decide upon guidelines as a family and make everyone adhere to them - online & offline.

  • Promote kindness: encourage your child to think before you click/post - Is it True? Is it Helpful? Is it Inspiring? Is it Necessary? Is it Kind? Discourage meanness & gossiping.

  • Avoid-oversharing: encourage your child to be selective in what they post and to whom they post - this goes for parents too!

  • Think about use of spaces: you probably wouldn't play soccer in the living room; similarly, you probably wouldn't want your child to be checking their device at the dinner table. Encourage technology use in public spaces at appropriate times.

  • Think of technology as another privilege you are giving your child: set guidelines with tech use as you would for anything else

• Empower your child: Expect your child to take responsibility for his or her choices and actions - it’s not the device that’s the issue; it’s how your child chooses to use it - online & offline.

  • Kids will be kids: your child will make mistakes using media. Try to handle errors with empathy and turn a mistake into a teachable moment.

  • Problem solve: teach your child how to think through difficult situations for themselves.

Visit the Screenagers home page for excellent resources and tech tips to use at home.