Our phones have quickly become part of the fabric of our everyday existence because they’re just so useful. They give us directions, they keep us on task while we’re stuck waiting for appointments, they’re cameras and research directories and so much more. But they can also suck us in, and kids, even more so. If you’re concerned about how much screen time your kids are racking up with their phones, here’s how to install some limits.
You’re concerned about screen time with your kids. You’ve set rules, you’ve laid down schedules, you’ve installed parental control software, and you think it’s all settled. Then they come home from a sleepover where all they did was play on their tablets all night. So, what do you do when different homes have different rules?
If you’re the parent of a teen who has internet access, you know the dangers. Cyberbullies. Explicit images and videos. Trolls. Solicitations from strangers. It’s enough to make any parent want to pull the plug on the internet entirely – but this generation is growing up in a digital culture, and it’s impossible to ignore it entirely. However, there’s good news – research suggests that your kids probably have more resilience against these online threats than you’ve been giving them credit for.
The internet is full of both dangers and things your kid shouldn’t see. And since apps are part of the internet, some of them aren’t great for kids, or even adults. Here are five apps you need to have a conversation with your kids about.
As the snow melts, the trees bud, and the sun shines more brightly, it’d be nice to think that kids will spontaneously put down their tablets and controllers and go outside. But, unfortunately, a body at rest tends to remain at rest, and it’s as true of human nature as it is of physics. Kids have had a winter to get used to sitting down and goofing on tablets, so how do you break that habit and get them moving?
Social media is everywhere in our lives. We keep in touch with friends on Facebook, vent our frustrations on Twitter, and post our meals to Instagram. But social media has also vastly expanded our emotional space and forced overlaps where before it was tightly contained. That has positive effects and negative effects, and much of that, especially for kids, comes from how it’s used.
