Life is definitely different today compared to when I was growing up. When I was growing up if you wanted to talk on the phone you went over to the table, sat in the chair, and picked up the receiver. You put your fingers in the holes and you turned number by number. Today kids talk to their smartphone and tell it to call Home. If we wanted to play with our friend in another town we had to make a play date and get our parents to drive us. Today all my son has to do is turn on the Xbox or his computer and his friend from the next town or country are connected and playing Monopoly or Minecraft. Our kids don’t even need to leave the house and back in the 70s we didn’t even want to be in ours. We hated seeing the streetlights come back on.
It’s starting younger and younger. His mama is teaching him responsible use…haha. He’s adorable, isn’t he? You can meet him over at Controlled Confusion.
If I think about it part of the obsession my son has with technology is my fault. I gave him his first tablet at age 18 months to watch videos on and learn ABCs. His first computer he got at age 2.5 to practice his letters and site words followed shortly thereafter. He got his first cellphone when he was in 4th grade which is about average for the kids today who get their first smart phones between the ages of 8 and 12. What’s really interesting is that although I’ve laid down ground rules from the beginning I have never done it in writing. Come to find out 79 percent of families have technology agreements with their children, only 6 percent of those are written.1
It’s time to have The Smart Talk.
With kids spending as much time on devices as they are it becomes a balancing act as to how much time to allow them. LifeLock has partnered with the National PTA to help give parents a way to make The Smart Talk easier and more kid friendly. It’s a digital tool designed to “empower families to make smarter, safer choices online and help build the next generation of digital citizens.” James and I sat down to try it out and we really loved how it addressed all the important topics such as safety and privacy, screen time, social media, apps and downloads, texting and calling, reputation and respect, and online videos and cameras. Together we created an agreement that works for us…signed, sealed, and delivered!
First you pick what’s important. Is it your child safety and privacy? Maybe it’s downloading of programs and apps that worry you? Is it everything? That’s what we choose. Once you decide you go step-by-step with this interactive tool and together you decide what the rules will be. The personalization is awesome and it makes this something you create which means it is taken seriously. Once you are done you can print out the agreement so you both can sign it. We hung ours on the fridge and I posted one right next to James’ computer.
Visit the Smart Talk site to check out the online safety resources and create your own personalized family contract to encourage healthy digital habits.
1. Commissioned study conducted by ResearchNow on behalf of LifeLock, adults 18 and older were surveyed online between July 20-24, 2015.
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
That is an excellent idea. All children need rules even technology ones and these seem to cover everything. Good parenting.