What are parents doing about teen Smartphone usage? What happened to playing outside? What happened to the simpler life? There were rules for that way of living!
The world has become so reliant on Smartphones; from adults down to preteens, everyone is using them. In some families, using Smartphones is getting out of hand. There are stories of folk meeting the wrong sorts of people online and the ensuing horror unfolding. There are videos of people texting while driving or walking and they end up having a fatal accident. There are also pictures of people, whole families, who have lost the art of communicating – talking – to each other. It is not actually a joke anymore.
Some parents have realized that rules need to be set to ensure that their offspring grow up unaffected by Smartphone usage in every way possible.
Here are some rules set by one family. What are the rules in your household?
Family teen Smartphone protocols:
(1) Mom and Dad have all phone passwords. If passwords are changed without prior approval, the phone is confiscated for a period of time.
(2) Phones are handed in at 10:00 every night and charged in Mom and Dad’s room in the charging tray. Phones are given back in the mornings (weekends included).
(3) The kids all have their own Apple ID’s set up on a family plan where all apps are approved by Mom or Dad (electronically). Any unapproved apps (by using an alternative account) results in phone confiscation.
(4) The kids can use Instagram as their social media platform with account set on private. Friends are approved by Mom or Dad. No FB, snapchat, Twitter, Kik, etc. No social messaging apps.
(5) Location tracking (Find Friends) must be turned on at all times. Turning location off (for any amount of time) without prior approval results in phone confiscation.
(6) No texting, emailing, editing photos, while walking in public; it is mandatory to pay attention to surroundings when in public.
There are many other things that are involved in this family Smartphone policy but these are some of the main ones. It worked for them with some minor hiccups here and there. The kids were involved in setting up the policies so there is a mutual understanding of why they have regulations. It was important that they didn’t feel their freedom was stifled while maintaining a safe way for them to engage with the world and their friends.
Clearly the parents cannot police everything... nor is that their desire. The goal is to hopefully instil principles that are understood and agreed upon rather than just setting up rules and enforcing them. If parents just set up rules that the children are forced to follow, they’ll just stop following them when the parents are not around. By allowing the children to be a part of the decision process, they are more inclined to hold themselves to a higher standard.
