Teens want freedom – being dynamic parents who know that freedom can lead to independent thinking and responsible doing, we want our teens to have freedom. The big ‘but’ is that we need to keep our teens safe at the same time. Not an easy task when your teen has access to the entire world from the family room. But it is doable. You can also check how you are doing with our parenting quiz, Is your teen safe online?
Time Required: 1 month to get started
Here's How:
- Talk with your teen about blogging and sharing personal information online. This article will give you some talking points, Things Parents Need to Tell Their Blogging Teens. On a side note, you may also want to talk about being media savvy at the same time.
- Talk to your teen about the rules, be sure you clearly define what your teen is allowed or not allow to do. One rule that I have found helps when your teen is first getting started with social networking sites is to only allow one blog/page until you are both comfortable with it.
- Tell your teen that you will be overseeing his/her activity on the internet and will randomly check his/her pages and/or email. This is where a parent needs to tow the hard line. There is no need to snoop. There is a need to have an understanding between teen and parent that you are allowing this wonderful privilege but you need to be able to monitor it or your teen may not have the privilege.
- Have your teen write down the internet addresses of his/her blogs or social networking(MySpace, Facebook, etc.) sites. You will also need his/her password. Make it your teen’s responsibility to keep you updated if his/her password changes. If you feel you need to, you can set up a consequence beforehand.
- Check your teen’s blog occasionally. Don’t play the police. Instead, leave a positive comment on something that will make your teen’s day. Open the lines of communication here and enjoy this new way to connect with your teen.
- When you find something that you have an issue with, talk to your teen about it and tweak the rules if there is a need. If it was a violation of a rule you had set up, impose a consequence. Your teen needs you to follow through in order to keep him/her safe online.
Tips:
- Don’t allow the computer to be in your teen’s room. It is impossible to monitor your teen’s online activities when you aren’t able to look over his/her shoulder, he/she may take too many risks.
- How often do you check your teen's email?
Parenting Quizzes for Parents of Teens
