Tech can change your life as a parent because it gives you so much access to the world in general. But for most of us, we are of an age where we remember life before the internet. For younger parents, technology has been a part of their life without necessarily learning how to be responsible with it. Some of us have learned the hard way how to be more responsible with technology and understand the areas we cannot venture into. But what do we need to do when it comes to teaching our children responsibility with devices, tech, and the internet?
Brush Up on Your Technology Skills
Sometimes it’s more about what we don’t know as parents. One of the biggest fears for parents is that we could find our children engaging in inappropriate activity online, which is why we need to learn how to familiarize ourselves with technology. You may find that your technical skills are pretty basic, which means that you’ve got to become savvier. The fact is that technology is not just about accessing the internet, but about making sure that your children know how to look after their devices properly and maintain them, as well as protect them from any form of accident. This is why it’s not just about the internet but knowing the simple things about your devices and computers, such as how to cool it down and making sure that the device, in general, is treated with respect. Because after all, if you are trying to lay down ground rules with your child, but you have no idea about the subject at hand, this is a clear lesson that you’ve got to brush up on your skills.
Teaching Responsibility
Technology is a vital part of our lives, and it might be difficult for us to keep up with the new developments that attract our children. But as important as it is to become more skilled in technology in general, you need to lay down key foundations and a framework so that everybody can have a safe and healthy relationship with technology. So whether you have a younger child or a teenager there are some important things for you to bear in mind:
Having an Honest Conversation About What Is out There
So many of us remember that when we first had access to the internet- it was like opening Pandora’s box, but you’ve got to help your child understand that this tool is a privilege so they should use it responsibly. Because you can easily get sucked down a wormhole of web pages and end up spending hours online. You can easily set ground rules by imposing limits on screen time and making sure that your kids know when to put the device away. It’s also important to highlight the downsides of too much time on your device. This is where we can talk about issues such as the impacts on our ability to sleep properly.
Teaching Them About Online Respect
One of the hardest things for us to get our heads around is online bullying, especially if we were too old to experience it ourselves. The fact is that online bullying can be a massive part of your child’s life so therefore you need to teach them to be respectful early on. You can teach your child to not say or do anything that could hurt someone online, much like in real life. You should also think about the types of material that your child has access to, because if they share something that offends or embarrasses someone else, how would they feel if it happened to them?
Respecting Privacy
If they ever receive private materials by accident, such as explicit images, it’s important for your child to know that they should delete them immediately rather than be tempted by the material. This is not just for the sake of privacy, but also for the consequences. If a child finds themselves embroiled in an online discussion with someone who is targeting them, your child needs to know that they should tell you and you need to report the issue.
It is certainly not an easy thing anymore because when you are trying to teach your child online habits and technology use within a clearly defined boundary, you will find yourself up against things that you were never exposed to as a child. This is why it’s so important that you teach them responsible internet habits as soon as humanly possible, for everyone’s sake.
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