It’s 2024 and I originally wrote this post in 2018 so an update is needed! Today’s parenting in a tech world requires gadgets! I’m that mom in the neighborhood, the geeky one, the one in love with technology, and the one who uses technology to parent her kids. If you are not using technology in this day and age of cell phones, game consoles, and WIFI, you may be missing out! It’s time to shut down your fax machine and get with the times. Here are some of the technical solutions that we use in our home.
I am an Amazon affiliate and in this post, I’ve placed links to the products my family uses. If you use those links, I may benefit.
Parental Controls are a Must
Why does it take hours for your child to get his or her homework done? Technology is not a distraction, it’s a complete derailment. They get a text, open social media or watch movies on their phones. Your child needs help with screen time. We used Fingbox and still have an old one in our home. Today, many parents are using parental control solutions such as Aura. You can review the product and purchase it here. There are others on the market, but essentially they not only protect your kids from inappropriate content, but these tools can help you also put time limits on devices, websites, and social media channels. To really understand what it does, look at this humorous video on Aura with Robert Downey Jr. Depending on your child’s age, keeping them safe may require a technical solution.
Do You Know Where Your Kids Are?
Parenting in a tech world can be helped or hindered by our devices. When Gen X was younger there used to be these commercials: “It’s 10pm, do you know where your children are!” Our parents had to be REMINDED to check on their kids. My mom reads my blog posts and I can tell you that she did NOT need a reminder, she was super big on curfews! Do you pay for your child’s phone? You do? Then they need to keep their location settings on. This was the rule in our house and still is. If my son borrows our car, I’ll check to see if he’s reached his location safely. There is only one reason why your child does not want their location checked and it’s not a good one. It’s YOUR phone. When they start paying for it then they can shut their location off.
Did Your Child Get Home Safely?
I’ll admit, that we actively integrate technology with our parenting style. We use Netamo, an indoor security camera to let us know when the kids get home safely from school. Before Covid, we both worked in an office and our kids would walk home and let themselves in. We didn’t have to check our devices, we were just pinged on our phone that a certain child was home. My husband and I use technology to juggle many things at once so a quick notification while we ran to our next meeting just worked.
The device has facial recognition so it can also tell you who is in your house at any given time. It’s so simple to set up and there’s a user-friendly app on your phone. It IS a security camera so there are many uses for Netamo, from keeping an eye on your dog, to alerting you to intruders when you’re away. It’s a great product.
Artificial Intelligence
Experts claim that artificial intelligence is more important, and more impactful to man than the discovery of fire. Think about that for a moment. Your child is already exposed to it. There is no escaping the fact that parenting has changed in our tech world. AI is being embedded into everything from search engines to tutoring software. Our education systems are seeking out and purchasing software that can detect if a student has used AI to write an assignment and the world is quickly changing. Educate yourself. I’m convinced that everything I could write here about AI will be outdated in just a couple of months. You already have AI if you have an Alexa device. Here’s a good place to start, an article on the impact on children. If you want something more advanced, Time magazine did an article on our changing world.
Tech Gadgets and Parenting
As our world changes, it’s only normal that we use technology to help us protect our kids, keep them safe, and navigate our quickly changing world. However, there are no better tools than knowledge and mentoring. Our kids are going to have to understand how to limit the distractions that technology can bring. They will also need to learn how to optimize their time using the tools that are available to them.
We all have different parenting styles. You have to be true to yours.
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