One of the biggest hurdles of parenting today is finding the right time and amount of courage to introduce your kid into the cyber world safely and steadily. Parents are usually skeptical of introducing smart phones into their kids’ lives due to the many threats and fears that they have come to associate with technology today. And while their fears are not exactly unwarranted, the sooner parents come to accept the tech dependent reality of today, the better they will be able to deal with their kids. Since we can completely relate to and understand what a parent goes through during this process, we have put together a list of rules to help ease your journey ahead.
Rule 1: Parent Property
When giving your kid a smart phone, make sure they understand that this gadget is not exclusive to their usage. It is first and foremost your tech gadget which has been lent to the kid. This means everything from text messages to videos, pictures, calls can be read and re-read by the parent at any time. This also means that every application downloaded on the phone also goes through the parent first.
Rule 2: Never ignore our call or message
Kids should be made clear that this smart phone will act as a means of direct communication between the kid and his parents. They should understand that by giving them a smart phone parents are placing their trust in the independence. Hence, when a parent reaches out, the kid must always respond and that too politely and courteously.
Rule 3: You break it, you fix it
This is a fairly simple rule. Although you have already made clear to the kid that this is undoubtedly your property, they should still know its value. This means, if they lose it, they should save money to replace it. And if they break it, they should find a way to fix it.
Rule 4: Not a prankster tool
This smart phone should not be used to harm anyone. This includes pulling pranks, lying and even bullying. Kids should be well aware that their parents have full access to their phones, which means they shouldn’t get into any wrongful doings.
Rule 5: Keep Private information Private
Your Smart phone should not act as an advertisement campaign. This means, your kid should know that they are not allowed to give out any personal information like cell phone number, address and even full names. And if someone is asking for them, then they should let you know first.
Rule 6: Silent feature
Kids should know when they can and when they shouldn’t use their phones. This includes private gatherings like dinnertime, family meetings and even when you’re a part of a conversation with another human. These all are silent zone times like when they are in school or at the movies as well.
Rule 7: Limited Screen time
Making sure your child understands that the smart phone is only meant to be used in the close proximity of the living room. Beyond that, in their bedroom or in closed secret spaces is a hard limit. Like a computer kept in the living room, the smart phone plays a similar function as well.
Rule 8: It’s an open invitation to anyone
Make sure you have the “privacy” conversation in great depth with your child before you decide to give them a smart phone. This means you need to make sure they understand the pros and cons of anything that goes online or is shared online.
Rule 9: Breach of another’s privacy
This smart phone should not be used in an attempt to breach another’s privacy. This means, you should not take photographs or make videos of anyone who is not aware of it happening. Everybody has a right to their own privacy and you should learn to respect and honour it always.
Rule 10: Study time
The smart phone should be turned off and returned to the parents in times of exams or any study time during the day. The child should learn to prioritize their lives and the values and norms you teach them now will reflect how they turn out to be later in their lives.
Conclusion
Giving your kids to smartphone is an important milestone in the development of your kid’s future and personality. The stops and checks you shall put on them initially will guarantee how they will react to difficult situations in the future therefore, even though rules like these may feel like you are further scrutinizing their liberty but it is for the best.
Considering that I will be soon handing her one, these are good pointers.
Very educative post. Though my children are now comparatively older, but now I feel that I should have been more strict with their mobile phone usage. My son has just passed his twelfth exams, and was very difficult to restrict his phone time.
You have shared some great suggestions that need to be considered. I’m sure this post is going to help lots of parents like me who give their smartphone to kids.