The New Parenting Rules For 21st-Century Parents

Things come and go so quickly these days. It seems like fashions and trends are only in the public focus for a few months at a time before they vanish and quickly become uncool. As a result, our lives are so quick to change and what is normal right now might look very different from the normality of a decade or two ago.

That means that you will no doubt notice that the certain parenting rules and guides that your parents swore by when they were bringing you up might no longer apply these days to your own kids. In fact, trying to keep up to date with all of the current parenting guidance and best practices can be a minefield. Even parents who have teenagers and have been parenting for quite some time can feel a bit overwhelmed with what they are supposed to do.

As a result, it is really critical that you try and keep up with the changing world and become a modern parent who is able to deal with all of the trials and tribulations that the modern world brings to your children. Only then will you be able to keep them as safe and secure as possible? Using Talkspace is a great option also!

Ready to change your parenting style for the better? Here are the new parenting rules for 21st-century parents. Hopefully, they will help you improve your parenting skills so that you are ready to take on this changing modern world.

Always Use Parental Controls

Lots of parents try and restrict their young children’s use of technology. It might be easy enough to keep it away from toddlers, but there is going to be a point (often a lot sooner than expected) when you are going to have to give in and let your kids use your devices. In fact, some parents are happy to let their young children get used to smartphones and tablet devices as they can teach them some key tech skills that they might need later on in their life. However, when you do have overall of this tech, you should always take advantage of the parental controls that are available to make sure your kids aren’t exposed to any age-inappropriate content. Lots of broadband suppliers, such as i3 Broadband now offer family-friendly packages that make it easy to control what your kids see and what they are kept away from. Once you have your parental controls locked down, you will find that you can leave your kids to browse the internet and play games without too much to worry about.

Set Passwords Yourself

Whenever your child needs to set up an account online for whatever reason – maybe it is to play a game, for instance – you should always be there when they do this. It is also necessary that you set their passwords for them. That way, you will always have access to their account and so can keep an eye on their online activity. You might be worried that this could count as an invasion of privacy, but that really isn’t the case. After all, it is a lot better to double-check what they get up to online when you aren’t watching to make sure that they are safe and protected from any pedophiles and cyberbullying. Just remember that once they start to get older, you will need to step away and let them create their own passwords so that they know you trust them. But while they are still under ten years old, it’s always necessary to crack their passwords.

Communicate Well With Their School

It is always important that parents and their children’s schools communicate well with one another. This ensures that both parties are well aware of any issues that the child may be going through at home and in the classroom. Not only that, though, but this also gives you a chance to find out all about the school rules regarding technology. Not every school may be happy about their pupils taking smartphones in with them. If this is the case, you need to be aware so that you can stop your child from taking any prohibited tech in with them. It’s also a good idea to find out what your child has been learning in their IT lessons so that you can reinforce these lessons at home when they use tech and computers at home.

Step Away From Social Media

Children always learn best through example. So, it is always necessary for you and your partner to be shining examples in everything that you do that your children see. That way, they will find it a lot easier to pick up good habits from both of you. This also counts when it comes to all things tech as well. One great thing that all parents need to start doing is to step away from their social media accounts. If your kids grow up to see you attached to your Facebook or Twitter apps on your phone, then they will think that this is an incredibly normal thing to do. They will then pick up this habit and grow up addicted to social media. So, be sure to put your smartphone away when you are around your kids. Not only does this prevent them from getting into any bad habits themselves, but it also helps you focus your attention on them so that you can spend some quality time together as a family.

Don’t Post Photos Of Your Child Online Without Their Consent

Right now there is a big debate raging about whether it is ethical or not to post photos of your children online on the likes of Facebook and Instagram. There is a growing group of people who argue that it is never ok to do so as it is impossible to get informed consent from children who are under the legal age. After all, they might end up embarrassed when they get older by some of the pictures that were circulated of them online. Some parents also prevent their children’s pictures from being posted anywhere online to prevent any privacy risks or their images from being stolen in identity theft. So, you need to really think carefully about how you handle your photographs of your kids and whether or not you post them online.

Don’t Leave Your Kids Alone With Tech

There is probably no wonder that many parents really worry about the effects of technology on their children. Not only can heavy use of tech become quite addictive, but it can also pose a danger from external threats, such as hackers, criminals, and sexual predators. There is one easy way around this, though – just don’t leave your children alone with any technology. You should always supervise children who are under ten years of age when they are using any devices or computers. Pre-teens and young teenagers should also be carefully monitored, though it is not necessary to watch over their shoulders at all times. After all, you need to start giving them some space so that they can learn about being responsible tech users on their own.  

Don’t Expose Them To On-Demand TV Too Early

For some parents, on-demand TV channels are an absolute godsend. That’s because they can put on an episode of Peppa Pig whenever their kids want to watch it – it’s no longer necessary to wait until the show is scheduled to be on TV and you also don’t need to spend a lot of money to buy the DVDs. However, even it’s important that you don’t introduce on-demand TV to your kids while they are still very young. Otherwise, they might simply end up demanding the TV all the time! This could be very stressful for you as they might start to throw a tantrum when you say now. So, it’s a good idea to wait until your kids are old enough to understand that they can’t watch TV all day every day. That way, your on-demand TV won’t become such a burden.

Don’t Google Your Child’s Symptoms

We all know about Dr. Google and I daresay that a few of you might have even used him to look up some of your own symptoms at times when you have been under the weather. However, it is really important that you don’t do a Google search for any symptoms that your child starts to show. This will only cause you to panic a lot when there might not be anything to worry about. So, instead of heading over to Google at the first sign of a child’s illness, you should instead simply book an appointment with your family doctor. They will examine your child and be able to prescribe any necessary medication and treatment. That way, you won’t have to worry about using Google to misdiagnose your child. So, remember – when in doubt, you should always go straight to your family doctor.

Hopefully, all of these rules for 21st-century parents will help you bring up your children into responsible and respectful adults. Good luck!