Monday, August 29, 2016

When the rules aren't clear

Let's say you have a rule in your household that there are no electronic devices at the dinner table. You have this rule in place because you are trying to establish the expectation for your son early in life and you don't want to become one of those families you see in restaurants - the ones who are all staring at personal screens and not talking to each other.

So, you have this rule in place, and let's say (hypothetically speaking) your husband breaks it by checking for tomorrow's weather on his phone. Do you:

A. Remind him in front of your son that there are no devices at the table.

B. Tap into your inner Elsa and let it go.

C. Be slightly passive aggressive about it by writing about it on your blog so you can remember to have a conversation about it later on.

Whatever you chose is actually not important, because here's the thing: Parents are not on the same page as their children when it comes to technology use. The National Cyber Security Alliance funded a study (a small one, but still interesting) that found there is a large disconnect on what parents say are the technology rules for the household and what children say are the technology rules for the household. Basically, children aren't aware that they have limitations on screentime, have no use at the dinner table, that they have to ask permission before downloading a new app or that their devices have a bedtime. Parents aren't enforcing their own rules.

I'm taking this all in as a reminder that my husband and I need to sit down and hash out the technology rules for our household, so that we are on the same page when it comes to enforcing them.

When's the last time you reviewed the technology rules of the household with your children? Tell me in the comments.

No comments:

Post a Comment