Digital Device Guide for Parents

Media and Digital Device Guidelines for Parents

In a world where children are "growing up digital," it's important to help them learn healthy concepts of digital use and citizenship.

Media and digital devices are an integral part of our world today. The benefits of these devices, if used moderately and appropriately, can be great. But, research has shown that face-to-face time with family, friends, and teachers plays a pivotal and even more important role in promoting children's learning and healthy development. Keep the face-to-face up front, and don't let it get lost behind a stream of media and tech.

● Make your own family media use plan. When used inappropriately or without thought, media can displace many important activities such as face-to-face interaction, family-time, outdoor-play, exercise, unplugged downtime and sleep.

● Treat media as you would any other environment in your child's life. Set limits; kids need and expect them. Know your children's friends, both online and off. Know what platforms, software, and apps your children are using, what sites they are visiting on the web, and what they are doing online.

● Set limits and encourage playtime. Media use, like all other activities, should have reasonable limits. Unstructured and offline play stimulates creativity. Make unplugged playtime a daily priority, especially for very young children.

● Be a good role model. Teach and model kindness and good manners online. Because children are great mimics, limit your own media use. In fact, you'll be more available for and connected with your children if you're interacting, engaging in conversations, hugging and playing with them rather than simply staring at a screen.

● Know the value of face-to-face communication. Engaging in back-and-forth "talk time" is critical for language development.

● Limit digital media for your youngest family members. Limit screen use for preschool children, ages 2 to 5, to just 1 hour a day of high-quality programming, and watch it with them so you can help them learn from what they're seeing. Limit screen use for preschool children, ages 2 to 5, to just 1 hour a day of high-quality programming, and watch it with them so you can help them learn from what they're seeing

● Create tech-free zones. Keep family mealtimes, other family and social gatherings, and children's bedrooms screen free.

● Don't use technology as an emotional pacifier. Media can be very effective in keeping kids calm and quiet, but it should not be the only way they learn to calm down.

● Apps for kids – do your homework. More than 80,000 apps are labeled as educational, but little research has demonstrated their actual quality.

● It's OK for your teen to be online. Online relationships are part of typical adolescent development. Social media can support teens as they explore and discover more about themselves and their place in the grown-up world. Just be sure your teen is behaving appropriately in both the real and online worlds. Keep lines of communication open and let them know you're there if they have questions or concerns. Educate your child about appropriate time limits spent browsing and supporting positive online posts.

● Warn children about the importance of privacy and the dangers of predators and sexting. Teens need to know that once content is shared with others, they will not be able to delete or remove it completely, and includes texting of inappropriate pictures. They may also not know about or choose not to use privacy settings, and they need to be warned that sex offenders often use social networking, chat rooms, e-mail, and online gaming to contact and exploit children.

● Remember: Kids will be kids. Kids will make mistakes using media. Try to handle errors with empathy and turn a mistake into a teachable moment. But some indiscretions, such as sexting, bullying, or posting self-harm images, may be a cause for concern. Parents must observe carefully their children's behaviors and, if needed, enlist supportive professional help, including the family paediatrician. Information taken from: https://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/Media/Pages/Tips-for-Parents-Digital-Age.aspx