3 Set healthy boundaries for them (and practice what you preach!). I’ll be honest, I get sucked into cute dog videos on TikTok just as much as the next person. And I’ve fallen victim to volleying with a stranger in the comment section a time or two. So this advice applies to all of us, no matter our age. Set time limits. Give your child a specific amount of time each day to spend on social media. And when time is up, the phone is left in a neutral location (meaning not their bedroom). You can also make them work for it. Maybe they earn one minute of screen time for every one minute of reading. Or 30 minutes of screen time for each chore they complete. They get their social media fix and you have a clean house and a well-read child. #winning Unplug regularly. Look at something — anything! — other than a screen. Take a 24-hour sabbatical every now and then. Pursue activities away from tablets and phones. Go for a walk. Play a board game. Have a (gasp!) face-to- face conversation. Foster your child’s love of an activity like music, art or sports. Get them up and out and moving their bodies!
4 Continue to educate yourself. Both Latimer and Koehler stress the importance of staying informed. Take the time to understand the capabilities and features of the platforms you’re letting your kids use. Read the safety and privacy information closely. Sign up for whatever newsletter or announcements the platform offers. This way, you are regularly updated on their terms, any changes they’re making to the app, future plans and more. Another way to stay informed is to follow (or join) organizations dedicated to keeping kids safe online. A few helpful options include: Safekids.com, the Organization for Social Media Safety and Web Wise Kids. Good, bad or otherwise, social media isn’t going anywhere. And as it keeps changing, we all — parents and kids — must be both flexible and diligent. Remember that each family is unique. The rules around social media use in your house may look different from those of your friends, siblings or neighbors. And that’s OK. By consistently conversing with kids about your family values, sharing advice from experts and modeling healthy digital behavior, you are setting a firm foundation for your children to make positive choices when it comes to their social media usage, both now and in the future.
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