Parenting kids and their technology for online safety | Ep. #1

Unplug and Plug In

Today our topic is kids and technology. I'll be talking about why every parent should be talking with their kids about unplugging distractions and plugging into life, and because it's our first episode I'll share a bit about how I got into teaching parenting and cyber safety.

Format of every episode

• Topics: parenting, online safety for kids, cyberbullying, data privacy, school online safety, tools to help keeps kids safe online, apps to avoid, online challenges to avoid
• Lisa solo or with a guest
• Conversation starter to try with your kids
• Unplug and Plug In segment

Topic: Kids and technology

Kids today have no sense of being unplugged from their devices. Ever.

• The internet is accessible 24/7
• Being disconnected causes anxiety
• Games and apps are designed to be addictive and keeps kids online
• Watch the movie The Social Dilemma as a family

Introduction to our host Lisa Honold's parenting story

Takeaway

Your kids need your guidance, your life experience, to navigate all the tricky situations online. It's not fair to hand them a phone and "hope for the best".

Tune in for future episodes on guiding your teens and tweens to be smarter, safer digital citizens, supervising what they are doing online and building your relationship as your kids want more independence.

Our sponsor

Our sponsor today is the Center for Online Safety. Their mission is to keep kids safe online and they offer training for parents and schools to protect kids from cyberbullying, predators, pornography and other inappropriate content.

Conversation starter

Ask your child:

When you have screen time, what’s the first thing you want to do online? (If they’re under 10 years old, you may think you know this answer, but it changes a lot!)

As a follow up, you can ask--How does it make you feel if you don’t get to do this?

If you’ve got a teen on social media:

Who is one famous person you follow on social media. And why do you like to follow them?

Unplug and plug in segment

What are you plugging into this week? What are you choosing to unplug from? Our host shares her thoughts.

Next Steps

• Follow the Unplug & Plug In podcast for parents to get future episodes delivered to your device. It's free!
• Please rate and review our podcast to help other parents benefit from this topic
• Suggest future topics or share your story by calling our hotline! Leave me a voicemail at 415 737 5472 and I promise I’ll listen.