It’s rare to find a teenager today who isn’t involved in social media – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, chat rooms…this is the teenager’s world, and it’s not going away. Though it’s a fun and fast way to interact with friends, most teens don’t realize that what they release is out for all to see…forever!As a parent of a teenager, you can either put your head in the sand and avoid the whole social media issue, or you can embrace it, understanding your teenager has to navigate the social media world every day. How you as a parent respond to the many intricacies of social media is extremely important.
Restricting your teen from engaging with social media until they go to college is certainly not the best response! But neither is letting them do whatever they want. You are still the parent, and you still have God-given control. A good approach to take is somewhere in the middle.
A healthy habit is to sit down with you teen every month and go over entries on their Facebook and Twitter accounts. This will help you become familiar with where your teen is spending their time. You will learn a lot when you see photos, read stories, and ask questions.
Set up some family ground rules, such as “no texting times.” However, if you set these rules for your kids, you need to be prepared to commit to abiding by the same rules. This will ensure social media will not take over your home and family time.
Technology is always changing and moving; there is something new every day! Even though you may be well versed in today’s technology, this won’t be sufficient for tomorrow’s technology. Continue to learn, so you won’t be in the dark about what your social media resources your teen is using. . It’s important for parents to be current on exactly what each device and app is capable of.
I hope this lesson focused on social media use has been helpful! Please feel free to reply and let me know of any ways I can be praying for you and your family.
Please Check out this week’s online parenting class:
https://vimeo.com/parentministry/review/149146296/b963dc322b
Restricting your teen from engaging with social media until they go to college is certainly not the best response! But neither is letting them do whatever they want. You are still the parent, and you still have God-given control. A good approach to take is somewhere in the middle.
A healthy habit is to sit down with you teen every month and go over entries on their Facebook and Twitter accounts. This will help you become familiar with where your teen is spending their time. You will learn a lot when you see photos, read stories, and ask questions.
Set up some family ground rules, such as “no texting times.” However, if you set these rules for your kids, you need to be prepared to commit to abiding by the same rules. This will ensure social media will not take over your home and family time.
Technology is always changing and moving; there is something new every day! Even though you may be well versed in today’s technology, this won’t be sufficient for tomorrow’s technology. Continue to learn, so you won’t be in the dark about what your social media resources your teen is using. . It’s important for parents to be current on exactly what each device and app is capable of.
I hope this lesson focused on social media use has been helpful! Please feel free to reply and let me know of any ways I can be praying for you and your family.
Please Check out this week’s online parenting class:
https://vimeo.com/parentministry/review/149146296/b963dc322b
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