When I went back to school in 2013, I was faced with a lot of topics regarding the future of learners. The demands of becoming a well-rounded and equipped 21st-century teacher was there. To accommodate the learners into the future was emphasized in most of my education major subjects.
As I reflect today, being a mom and homeschooling at that, I always thought about the future of my children. Will they be able to adapt into the future that is set before them? Will they become equipped with the everchanging technologies around us? Those were my everyday thoughts.
Because of this, the era of digital parenting has come. Gone were the days that you only think about those things your children will encounter in school or the outside world. In this era, you also must think about what your children are encountering in the online world.
With the advent of the internet, our children are faced with a lot of issues and pressures all around them. They are not only concerned about how people see them in the outside world, but they are also concerned about how people in the online world see them. Some are even more comfortable with their online persona rather than who they really are in real life. This is where many problems set in.
As parents facing this new era of digital parenting, let me share to you some tips on how I personally handle my children in relation with technology…
- Moderation. Since they are the children of this everchanging generation that is hands-on with technology, exposing them to it is essential. They need to learn how to adapt to this, but just like everything else, it should be done in moderation. The children should have an online-offline world in balance. Social media offers online socialization, but these children should need to learn how to socialize in real life as well.
- Monitor. As parents, you should be monitoring your child’s online world. You should know what they are doing online, what they are reading, and who they are interacting. Some children in the U.S. have been exposed to radical thinking that some went to extreme psychological and emotional problems. Some were lured to the online dangers of the internet. Just like I mentioned in my previous post, some were raped and murdered. Make safety your online primary protocol when it comes to the internet.
- Motivate. The internet has its pros and cons. If you use it properly, your children can learn a lot of things that can help them in their own development. Motivate your children to use the internet for the betterment of their studies and themselves. Motivate them to learn new online skills that can help them in the future.
- Master. We can’t deny it; our children will live life with this fast-paced changing technology. This is inevitable. But for now, since they are still our children and need guidance, we are left with no choice but to learn it with them. If you must, you need to learn to master or be adept with technology and the internet. This way, you will be able to monitor them. They won’t be able to outsmart you. Or at least, learn ahead of them but don’t fall prey yourself. The Internet can be very addicting. So, apply moderation to yourself as well.
In short and in my own opinion, depriving our children of technology may not be an encouraging thing to do as our future is heading that way. You can let them experience and learn from it, especially the internet, but you, as the parent, should always be on top of the matter. Moderation is the main key. And we all know, this doesn’t only work with gadgets and technology, but in everything in life. Even if you think that this could be good for your children, but everything in excess is not good for them or anyone.
The #makeITsafePH campaign by Globe Telecom aims to promote cybersecurity and cyber-wellness among Filipinos. This campaign hopes to help educate consumers about online threats and inform the public of what can be done to avoid becoming a victim. This includes promoting digital parenting our children for online safety.