This article is the second in a series on how parents can address the issue of sexting with their teenage children. The first part of this series emphasized the importance of educating yourself as a parent and talking to your kids about sexting as well as internet and social media issues. Set the ground rules. Once you have talked to …
Sexting Part 1-Having the Talk
There is a perfect storm that has arisen around teenagers and sex: the internet, technology, the sexualization of our culture, stupid teenagers (and politicians and professional athletes and . . .), the rise of Romance and the ability to be anonymous (or at least avoid direct, face to face contact) when interacting with other people. All this has conspired to …
Tech Free Family Renaissance
Technology has taken over our lives in both wonderful and annoying ways. Here’s a particular question that can have a troubling answer. What is the longest you and especially your kids have gone without using electronic technology? Most of us don’t realize the ways in which our reliance on and responsiveness to technology has filled every moment with some kind …
Ikigai
We live in a society where experiences are served up pre-determined, pre-selected, pre-processed, pre-digested, pre-programmed, pre-packaged and pre-scheduled. While convenient, there are a few problems this can present for your kid. They can forget or never learn how to recognize authentic personal interests. They begin to wait passively for experiences to be presented. They consider temporary excitement and surprise to …
Developmental Stages of Access to Social Media Grades 11-12, Part II
Will the torment ever end? Yes, with this column. We have finally reached the end of this interminable series on trudging through developmental considerations for access to and use of social media and the internet. Eleventh and 12th graders use of cell phones, social media accounts and video games will be covered and then we’re outa here. Cell Phones. By …
Developmental Stages of Access to Social Media Grades 11-12, Part I
Well, we’ve come to the final developmental stage in this series on access to and use of social media and the internet. Much of the heavy lifting in parenting should have been occurring in the years before your teenager reaches the 11th and 12th grade. By staying on top of things, building in important values, requiring self-restraint and repeatedly addressing …
Developmental Stages of Access to Social Media Grades 9-10, Part III
This column continues the series about setting limits on your kid’s access to and use of social media and the internet. The topic for this column is video games and social media accounts. It is the third part of the expectations and recommendations for kids in grades 9 and 10. (If strategies or information have been covered in previous columns …
Developmental Stages of Access to Social Media Grades 9-10, Part II
This column continues the series on setting limits on your kid’s access to and use of social media and the internet. The topic for this column is cell phones. It is the second part of the expectations and recommendations for kids in grades 9 and 10. (If strategies or information have been covered in previous columns from earlier ages, you …
Developmental Stages of Access to Social Media Grades 9-10, Part I
This column continues the series on setting limits on your kid’s access to and use of social media and the internet at different ages. The focus of this column is on the expectations and recommendations for kids in grades 9 and 10. Levels of Parental Monitoring Ninth and tenth grade kids should begin to require less parental monitoring than younger …
Developmental Stages of Access to Social Media Grades 7-8, Part III
This column continues the series about setting limits on your kid’s access to and use of social media and the internet. The topic for this column is video games and social media accounts. It is the third part of the expectations and recommendations for kids in grades 7 and 8. If strategies or information have been covered in previous columns …