Your Kids and Electronics

If you twitter my blog, I will tweet your YouTube! Electronics have become the defining element of the younger generation with many adolescents tweeting or texting thousands of times per month! It is a wonderful technology with a myriad of really serious down sides and requires monitoring and control by responsible adults. The internet is a remarkable tool but also a cesspool into which many children may tumble.

It is important to discuss the potential problems associated with electronics in much the same way that future generations monitored “screen time.” It now requires parents to control use of newer “screens.” Parents do have a right to monitor use of cell phones and internet access and as much right to censor behaviors as they have to censor the movies and TV shows that their children view. Having a central area for internet access and checking cell phones at a certain hour of the night are reasonable ways to monitor their use.

Discussing expectations on the use of these devices with your children is reasonable and appropriate.