I haven’t read through the article yet but from the subtitle I just had to comment. As a parent of a 6 and 9 yo without cell phones, I’d love to get a movement going where we “just say no” to phones, smartphones with social media in particular. We know they’re bad but people keep giving their kids phones cause “everyone else is doing it.…
I haven’t read through the article yet but from the subtitle I just had to comment. As a parent of a 6 and 9 yo without cell phones, I’d love to get a movement going where we “just say no” to phones, smartphones with social media in particular. We know they’re bad but people keep giving their kids phones cause “everyone else is doing it.” Would you give your kid some cocaine, a bottle of Jack Daniels, a loaded handgun and the keys to your vintage Porsche, then tell them to have a fun night? No, because those could be harmful. Same with smartphones.
I also host exchange students (teenagers) and to watch their inability to hold a polite conversation with an adult, and their inability to put their phone down is disturbing to say the least. Not to mention the fact that they’re still at an age where they’re not skeptical of technology companies and the data they’re collecting on you, nor the psychological effects it has on you. It’s a bad combo.
There is! It’s called ScreenStrong Families. There’s a website (https://screenstrong.org) and a Facebook support group for parents who want to keep their kids off of devices. Our 7yo already knows that she won’t be allowed to have a cell phone until she starts driving places by herself around age 16. Her cousins ages 6-13 were recently all given their own iPhones and I was floored. It’s so unnecessary and harmful for young brains.
I have one child, a 12 year old daughter. She is a sixth grader at a k-8 catholic school. My husband and I are deeply connected to the school and parish community. Some of our best friends are the parents of our daughter’s classmates. We socialize together often and feel able to be honest and talk about anything related to our children. I tried so hard to convince my friends to refrain from giving smart phones to their children in the class , at least until middle school was over. It seemed like it would be so much simpler if we all just agreed on that. I had researched all the important reasons why the phones are so harmful and we had all talked about it so many times. Regardless of acknowledging the dangers many of the girls in the class now have smartphones and have been quickly pulled into that vortex. I was so disappointed and also pretty angry. For some reason they let themselves believe that all the horrible things won’t hurt their child, just someone else’s. Fortunately, the 4 girls that my daughter is closest to don’t have phones. I’m hopeful that will help her stay strong and more grounded. They actually look each other in they eye when they are talking and hang out together all the time face to face in a normal way. Absolutely no way will my daughter be getting a smartphone anytime soon. She might get a flip phone with no internet access in high school. She doesn’t even bother asking for a phone. She knows it’s just not happening.
We are no longer friends with our very close friends over this very issue. When I called out that giving their 10 yr old daughter a phone with instagram, Snapchat etc. Was a terrible choice they stopped talking to us. It is what it is but I still stand strong on that opinion. And if they are that fragile about critizism, I don't want them in our friend group anyways.
Yeah, I’m always fascinated by the ways parents justify it, after knowing all the risks. They all insist that they found the right monitoring app, that they’re having all the right conversations, that they’re guiding their kid in developing necessary skills, etc. And later the kids all have the same problems. Some parents regret it. Others shrug their shoulders like it was inevitable. It’s not inevitable! Parents are on charge! We can keep our kids away from this stuff!
I’m constantly shocked by how many parents give into things because they don’t want their kids to feel left out. I thought our job as parents was to teach our kids to stick to their principles REGARDLESS of what everyone else is doing. It’s really bizarre how quickly we give our parental authority away to “everybody else.” Parents need to realize that not only do we have the power to set rules and say no, we have the obligation to do so. And kids want that from us, whether they consciously realize it or not. They need someone to steer the ship.
It’s not that hard to keep these devices out of your kids’ hands. Set the expectation early, reiterate it often (explaining your reasons with helpful articles like this), make it clear that there is no negotiating, and your kids will accept it. I promise. I have four kids, including 16- and 13-year-olds. They will not touch social media or smart phones until they’re adults. They know this and accept it. And they have richer, happier lives because of it. The fact that every other kid has one is too bad, but this is also teaching my kids to do what is healthy for themselves regardless of what everyone else is doing.
Yes! Our generation of parents needs to change the trend. We don't think smoking is ok anymore, we know it's harmful now. We need to collectively stop giving phones and social media accounts to children, because now we know it's harmful. How do we get some PSAs going for this cause!? :) I understand not wanting the kids to be left out and I think up to this point parents didn't realize the negative effects, so they figured what's the harm? But now we have studies and data showing harm and it's time to change the narrative. The cool kids are the ones WITHOUT phones!
I was at Target yesterday with my 4 and 6yo boys, the 6 yo sees a thing (that looks like a kid toy) as we walk by the electronic section (it's an ok google type device) and he says, can we get this? and he sorta knows what it is, and I say loudly so all those near us can hear, " NO we don't want that in our house it's just another way for the big bad government to spy on you!" We are teaching our young children about this stuff NOW so when they are at an age where other kids are trying to make them feel bad for not having something they will understand the harms. There is NOTHING good on the internet for kids....NOTHING! And it's totally disgusting that parents allow their children to post things for all to see...don't they realize that crazy perverts could be watching & getting off on seeing little kids?!?!? It's all so nuts!
I haven’t read through the article yet but from the subtitle I just had to comment. As a parent of a 6 and 9 yo without cell phones, I’d love to get a movement going where we “just say no” to phones, smartphones with social media in particular. We know they’re bad but people keep giving their kids phones cause “everyone else is doing it.” Would you give your kid some cocaine, a bottle of Jack Daniels, a loaded handgun and the keys to your vintage Porsche, then tell them to have a fun night? No, because those could be harmful. Same with smartphones.
I also host exchange students (teenagers) and to watch their inability to hold a polite conversation with an adult, and their inability to put their phone down is disturbing to say the least. Not to mention the fact that they’re still at an age where they’re not skeptical of technology companies and the data they’re collecting on you, nor the psychological effects it has on you. It’s a bad combo.
There is! It’s called ScreenStrong Families. There’s a website (https://screenstrong.org) and a Facebook support group for parents who want to keep their kids off of devices. Our 7yo already knows that she won’t be allowed to have a cell phone until she starts driving places by herself around age 16. Her cousins ages 6-13 were recently all given their own iPhones and I was floored. It’s so unnecessary and harmful for young brains.
I have one child, a 12 year old daughter. She is a sixth grader at a k-8 catholic school. My husband and I are deeply connected to the school and parish community. Some of our best friends are the parents of our daughter’s classmates. We socialize together often and feel able to be honest and talk about anything related to our children. I tried so hard to convince my friends to refrain from giving smart phones to their children in the class , at least until middle school was over. It seemed like it would be so much simpler if we all just agreed on that. I had researched all the important reasons why the phones are so harmful and we had all talked about it so many times. Regardless of acknowledging the dangers many of the girls in the class now have smartphones and have been quickly pulled into that vortex. I was so disappointed and also pretty angry. For some reason they let themselves believe that all the horrible things won’t hurt their child, just someone else’s. Fortunately, the 4 girls that my daughter is closest to don’t have phones. I’m hopeful that will help her stay strong and more grounded. They actually look each other in they eye when they are talking and hang out together all the time face to face in a normal way. Absolutely no way will my daughter be getting a smartphone anytime soon. She might get a flip phone with no internet access in high school. She doesn’t even bother asking for a phone. She knows it’s just not happening.
We are no longer friends with our very close friends over this very issue. When I called out that giving their 10 yr old daughter a phone with instagram, Snapchat etc. Was a terrible choice they stopped talking to us. It is what it is but I still stand strong on that opinion. And if they are that fragile about critizism, I don't want them in our friend group anyways.
Yeah, I’m always fascinated by the ways parents justify it, after knowing all the risks. They all insist that they found the right monitoring app, that they’re having all the right conversations, that they’re guiding their kid in developing necessary skills, etc. And later the kids all have the same problems. Some parents regret it. Others shrug their shoulders like it was inevitable. It’s not inevitable! Parents are on charge! We can keep our kids away from this stuff!
I’m constantly shocked by how many parents give into things because they don’t want their kids to feel left out. I thought our job as parents was to teach our kids to stick to their principles REGARDLESS of what everyone else is doing. It’s really bizarre how quickly we give our parental authority away to “everybody else.” Parents need to realize that not only do we have the power to set rules and say no, we have the obligation to do so. And kids want that from us, whether they consciously realize it or not. They need someone to steer the ship.
It’s not that hard to keep these devices out of your kids’ hands. Set the expectation early, reiterate it often (explaining your reasons with helpful articles like this), make it clear that there is no negotiating, and your kids will accept it. I promise. I have four kids, including 16- and 13-year-olds. They will not touch social media or smart phones until they’re adults. They know this and accept it. And they have richer, happier lives because of it. The fact that every other kid has one is too bad, but this is also teaching my kids to do what is healthy for themselves regardless of what everyone else is doing.
Yes! Our generation of parents needs to change the trend. We don't think smoking is ok anymore, we know it's harmful now. We need to collectively stop giving phones and social media accounts to children, because now we know it's harmful. How do we get some PSAs going for this cause!? :) I understand not wanting the kids to be left out and I think up to this point parents didn't realize the negative effects, so they figured what's the harm? But now we have studies and data showing harm and it's time to change the narrative. The cool kids are the ones WITHOUT phones!
I was at Target yesterday with my 4 and 6yo boys, the 6 yo sees a thing (that looks like a kid toy) as we walk by the electronic section (it's an ok google type device) and he says, can we get this? and he sorta knows what it is, and I say loudly so all those near us can hear, " NO we don't want that in our house it's just another way for the big bad government to spy on you!" We are teaching our young children about this stuff NOW so when they are at an age where other kids are trying to make them feel bad for not having something they will understand the harms. There is NOTHING good on the internet for kids....NOTHING! And it's totally disgusting that parents allow their children to post things for all to see...don't they realize that crazy perverts could be watching & getting off on seeing little kids?!?!? It's all so nuts!