Technology has become an integral part of our daily lives. And every year, new technology is introduced to ease our living and make it simpler and comfortable. The technology is upgrading and evolving rapidly, so is their usage. In the present context, it has become tough to live a life without technology. There is no doubt that your children stare into phone screens or laptops or tablets more than you do.
Children nowadays are growing in the digital era, so it becomes challenging for parents to keep their children away from new technology. And also, keeping children away from new technology is not a good idea as being familiar with the new technology can benefit your child/teens to some extent.
So as a responsible parent, it would be beneficial if you made yourself familiar with the digital parenting concept to have a clear vision about how you can manage your child’s technology usage rather than banning them from using it.
Having some knowledge about digital parenting and new technology helps you deal with your tech kids and helps you become familiar with the usage of new technology and apps.
If you are looking for information on how you can become your child’s technology mentor, what mistakes you can make with technology, and how to avoid it, this article would help you to remove your thirst regarding all those questions.
Seven most common mistakes parents make with technology
1) Modeling bad tech-dining habits
In today’s world, the way the world is digitizing and changing rapidly, more hustle can be seen in people’s lives. People cannot afford to have leisure time or spend time unnecessarily, especially working parents.
For working parents, feeding their kids is a real struggle. Some kids take an hour to finish a bowl of the meal, so to grab the kid’s attention, parents would turn on the videos of cartoons online. Doing so might be helpful for that particular moment but can create a habit of screen time in the future whenever your children start dining.
How to avoid it?
- Instead of turning on online videos, try to tell a story that your child enjoys.
- Give them their favorite toys to play with so that you can grab their attention.
- You can also hire a babysitter if you have no time for these. Hiring a babysitter will be a win-win situation for both you and your child.
2) Allowing children to use technology too early
It often seems that kids are using technology at an earlier age. As per the article published in pew research, 80% of parents say that their children aged 5 to 11 use or interact with the tablet computer, and 63% say the same about smartphones. Around 53% of children have their smartphones by 11 and more than 69% by 12.
As being parents of today’s digital world, you might think it’s okay to make your child familiar with new technology at an earlier age. Every parent wishes to make their child familiar with new and advanced technology, whether using credit cards or using new technology-based phones, tablets, or laptops, which is considerable.
But as a responsible parent, you also need to be aware of the consequence of technology usage at an earlier age. Some of the consequences could be:
- headache
- backache
- eye redness
- problem in eyesight
- not being so active in physical activities
- enjoy spending time alone
- finds difficult to communicate with new people
- develop introverted behavior and many more.
How to avoid it?
- Ask them to use a common PC that is shared among family members for browsing the internet.
- Make a rule that they must give their phones during nighttime.
- Ask them to make some tech-free time and enjoy family time during the evening.
3) Thinking screen time is important
As a parent, you want to do every possible thing for your child, especially when they are in a growing phase. Every parent wants to groom their child as a better person and keep up-to-date with the technology or things happening globally.
Because of this, many parents end up introducing their kids to the world of the internet, thinking their kids can get more knowledge from it, which is good until and unless your child becomes addicted to it.
How to avoid it?
- Allocate the specific time like an hour or 2 hours where they are free to access the internet.
- Use a parental control app to set screen time limits.
4)Ignoring password protocol
Parents often ignore password protocol. They might think it is not that important to put a password on the PCs or even on their phones. Although some parents may secure their home PC or phones with the password, they often use the most common (12345) or the easiest password. Their kids can easily guess such passwords, and kids may use them behind their back.
None of the parents want their kids to use PCs or phones to browse the internet behind their back or without their concerns. So as a responsible parent, you need to be aware of these things and keep your devices as secure as possible.
How to avoid it?
- Try to secure all your devices with a strong password.
- Keep changing your passwords time-to-time.
- If you are afraid of forgetting your passwords, then get your hand on some password manager apps.
5)Not keeping up with technology
Being a parent of today’s generation of kids, you should not forget that your kids are digital natives. Although they are young compared to you in terms of age, they have better knowledge regarding new technology, phones, and the internet than you because they are born with it; ultimately, it’s a natural advantage for them.
If you lack knowledge about tech-related stuff, don’t pressurize yourself. However, it would be best to have some ideas rather than pressure yourself to learn everything about it.
How to avoid it?
- If you feel you are falling behind, Google is your friend. You can search about the most popular apps for the ages of your kids and be familiar with what they are up to.
- And it’s totally fine to ask tech-related questions to your child to keep up with new technology.
6)Believing kids are snooping
Parents often tend to have a belief in their child as no other family member does. They think their child only uses phones or PCs to search for some information for their assignments. But having some faith in your child might be sometimes dangerous.
So it’s better to keep an eye on your child’s online activities without interfering with their privacy. Make yourself familiar with the apps that they have been using in the name of searching information for their study. Be curious and ask them what the purpose of this app is? How do you plan on using it? In doing so, your child thinks twice before using any inappropriate apps behind your back.
How to avoid it?
- See the list of sites that your kids have visited in the last few days.
- Check their downloaded files or apps once a week and ask them the purpose of those
- Create a list of online sites that they are allowed and forbidden to g.
7)End up being a heavy technology user
Sometimes parents themselves end up being heavy technology users. Needless to say, the mixture of the internet and new technology is very addictive to everyone regardless of age. Parents, especially working parents, usually seem to be addicted to technology. Whenever they are home after work, they surf the internet for their refreshment.
Children may also develop the same habits seeing their parents. They also enjoy watching videos or chatting with their virtual friends rather than having a chit-chat with their parents. Both parents and children can be more disconnected because of the screen time.
How to avoid it?
- Set a rule of spending time together with family by putting devices aside.
- Put more effort into making screen time for the family.
- Try to be a good role model since your kids are observing you.
Final thoughts
Technology is both bloom and curse for today’s generation. Any person can quickly get into the trap of technology addiction. However, there are many things available in the market that can keep your kids safe online and avoid the worst of pitfalls. But before getting different hands-on kinds of apps that help your kids keep safe online, first of all, you need to make them aware of the consequences that they may face.
Parents should maintain an excellent healthy tech-life because children are good observers and adopt things quickly only by seeing. Parents need to be more conscious about their actions, such as answering the phone at the dinner table, screen timing more often after and before having a meal.
Moreover, parents also need to enlighten themselves about the new technology or apps that have constantly been upgrading or introduced in the market. And the most common mistake that every parent makes with technology is not setting limits on technology usage.