I don’t often give serious parenting advice here. I know my audience. But my purpose for this post is twofold – first, to congratulate Steve Kryger from Communicate Jesus for this piece on Sydney Anglicans that has been syndicated on Gizmodo.com.au, and second, to share Steve’s list of ten tips for parents. I think they’re good, and a great acknowledgment that clean feed, or no clean feed, the issue requires a thought out approach from parents not a government mandate.
- Understand what your child is doing online (put the computer in a public space, talk to your children, use accountability software).
- Ask your child to explain to you what they are doing, and why they are doing it.
- Talk to your child about your values, and how these should be lived out, regardless of the environment.
- Filter the content that your family views online.
- Understand the minimum age requirements for different websites and technologies (children under 13 should not be on Facebook).
- Understand how these popular websites are used, and what the opportunities and threats are.
- Understand what avenues are at your disposal if something goes wrong (e.g. your child’s Facebook account is hacked).
- Consider how you will respond if you discover your child is acting inappropriately, or viewing inappropriate material.
- Decide when or if your child will get a mobile phone.
- Understand the new functions of mobile phones, and what the opportunities and threats are.