Digital parenting is our new reality.
Every day we are looking at what screen time looks like, what is appropriate, and how to keep our kids safe online. Parents and kids alike are utilizing technology more and more, especially as schools turn to online learning.
Tell me if this sounds familiar. You’re in the middle of a project and the preschooler is given a tablet with age-appropriate games and the elementary-aged child is learning a new concept on a classroom call. Or the high school student is sitting at the dinner table staring at their tech for who knows what reason, and it feels like this is happening every minute that they are home.
Surely there’s a way to reign this in with everybody on board and minimal hurt feelings. Right? Yes there is. And don’t worry – we are here to help you with all of your digital parenting concerns. Plus, when you work with us, we help you make a plan that adapts for every child’s and every family’s needs.
The 3Ms of Digital Parenting: Model, Manage and Monitor
We came up with the 3M’s™ – Model, Monitor, and Manage – to help parents create family media plans that work for all ages, and wrote Becoming a Digital Parent: A Practical Guide to Help Families Navigate Technology to make your plan even simpler to implement.
When you work with us and learn the 3Ms of Digital Parenting, you will learn to:
- Model a healthy digital lifestyle for your children by using technology appropriately
- Manage personal information and accounts for young children
- Monitor activity once children have started managing their own accounts
Model
Starting with small children, create shared expectations around technology in the household. If you don’t put your phone down during dinner then why should your child?
Manage
Consider letting your child have their own account online which you would manage. This creates opportunities for your child to share their thoughts and creations online.
Monitor
Allow the children at an older age their own accounts without little supervision. Monitor how they’re doing. Be a sounding board and a place for them to bring questions and concerns.