December 2022: Tips for Talking with Your Child About Safe, Responsible Communication Using Technology
December 2022: Tips for Talking with Your Child About Safe, Responsible Communication Using Technology
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We empower our children with strategies to keep them safe from strangers, safe from bullies, safe on playground equipment, bikes and crossing the street. As our children become more adept at choosing and using these safety skills, they build trust and we give more and more freedom.
It stands to reason that we would also take time to teach our children how to communicate safely and responsibly using technology before we set them free, with their impulsive brains, to make all these decisions on their own.
Whether your child is gaming, using apps like Snapchat and Instagram, using the internet as a learning tool or texting friends, they need age-appropriate supervision and boundaries to guide their decision making. The following websites my provide information that could help you establish strategies to empower your child for safe and responsible tech use.
5th grade students at Erie Elementary School will participate in a presentation facilitated by School Counselor, Alissa Chute and SRO (Safety Security Officer) Conner Penman, on Tuesday, December 20, 2022 to explore responsible, safe ways to communicate using technology and the consequences when we fail to do so.
Quick Tips
Sit with your child while they are online.
Set up parental blocks to keep unsafe websites and content away from view.
Know and approve sites and apps your child visits – check history frequently.
Know your child’s password and always sit with them when they set up new accounts.
NEVER give personal information (anything that might identify what your child looks like, where they live or where they go to school, etc.)
Set expectations that tech use happens in central locations – not in privacy.
NEVER be “friends” with someone you have never seen in person.
Parents have the right . . .
To know ALL passwords.
To check student history.
To limit tech use time.
To require online activities take place in a public location (ie. the living room).
To take away any device that is not used appropriately (even school issued Ipads).
Think about this – When you decide it’s time for your child to have a phone, ask yourself why? Do you want to have a way for your child to communicate with you? With their friends? Then limit their phones to only calling or texting access. Even smartphones can be limited to those simple tools.
Technology is a privilege not a right!
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