Does your child NEED a cell phone?

I was 17 years old when I got my first cell phone. That was back when cell phones were mostly symbols of being rich or a drug dealer. I was neither. It was a cheap pay by the minute phone that I used for maybe a month and got tired of the "newness" of having it and never bought another minute for it. The second time I ever thought I would like a cell phone was when I was 21 years old. I was at an amusement park with some friends and we needed a ride back home. None of us had a cell phone. None of us had enough change for the pay phone. Using our student bus passes we took the bus home.

Children and Electronics

Today is the age of electronics. Most children are familiar with the internet, computers, video games, cell phones, texting, and a variety of other electronic devices. With each device come challenges, opportunities and responsibilities. Each family needs to decide what is an appropriate use of each particular technological device. Some guidelines to keep in mind when setting appropriate boundaries around technology include:

1. Technology is a privilege, which means parents have the right to restrict it's use when children begin to use it outside the families individual values.
2. Technology can be used to harm individuals. Children who use technology to harm others need to have their usage restricted. 
3. Filtering software is available for most computers and some handheld devices, but many handheld devices that access the internet don't have filtering available. Parents need to be wise in their choice of allowing particular handheld devices. 

If you have any other suggestions about helping children and families appropriately use technology, feel free to comment below. 

March: The Month of Technology

From the time my wife and I have been married we have tried to be consistent in celebrating March 14 by enjoying a nice apple pie (for those non-geeks, March 14 is also 3.14, which is the abbreviated value of Pi in math). I thought it would be fitting to discuss technology throughout this month. Each week I will post information regarding how technology has changed the way we parent children and discuss a few issues that technology poses to parents. I know that this topic can be divisive, so fill free to post your thoughts regarding each topic.

Let me start off with a story. When my wife and I were on a date, I took the time to look around at the other couples at the restaurant we were eating at. I noticed that almost 70% of the individuals in the restaurant were distracted in one way or another on their phone or smart phone. It reminded me of a video I saw about parents doing the same thing.

Take a few minutes to watch this video and try the following experiment:

• Count how many minutes you are present with your children but doing something on your phone.
• Try to reduce that time in the following week.