Kids and Technology: Parenting In The Digital Age
Are you wondering how to parent in the age of technology? Parents are struggling with new habits like texting while driving and social media both for themselves and for their teenagers. Experts have valuable advice that will change your parenting.
First tip: Be the same parent online that you are in real life.
More great information on teens and technology from moderator Todd Meany and his cast of panelists: Brett Kyker, Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force; Dr. Peggy Stager, MetroHealth; Erica Sevilla, Verizon Wireless; Dr. Ethan Schafer, Psychologist; Hemanshu Nigam, SSPBlue.com. To watch the video, click here.
Excerpt:
Susan Borison: Welcome to the Your Teen Podcast. I’m your host, Susan Borison. Parents, you are digital immigrants and your children are digital natives. Like earlier immigrants, you can acquire the language. Your teen experts will share information that will change your parenting. Dr. Peggy Stager, Pediatrician for Metro Health, Brett Kyker, director of Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Erica Sevilla, marketing manager for Verizon Wireless, Dr. Ethan Schafer, clinical Psychologist, and Hemanshu Nigam, founder of SSP Blue, will share their wisdom.
Todd Meany: I’d like to introduce the panel we have right here. To my left first is Erica Sevilla. She’s a marketing manager from Verizon. Also we have Brett Kyker, who’s the director of Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Dr. Ethan Schafer is a clinical Psychologist. And Dr. Peggy Stager, who’s director of Adolescent Medicine at Metro Health. Thank you guys for being here.
We’re going to let our panelists at first kind of describe their idea when it comes to technology and kids. We’ll have you guys go from there. Erica, go ahead.
Erica Sevilla: Right, thank you. As Mr. Meany mentioned, my name is Erica Sevilla. I’m with Verizon Wireless. Essentially, Verizon takes a three-pronged approach when we talk to parents about how they can prepare their children to use technology responsibly. That includes first preparing your children by sitting down and having a discussion about your expectations for how they’ll be using technology, making sure that you forewarn them about some of the pitfalls in using technology, such as posting inappropriate pictures or photos, how they last on the internet forever, about not sharing specific age and address information with people that they don’t know, really it’s so important to have those initial discussions. Hopefully we’re going to help you learn some of those pitfalls today.
(For the rest of this presentation, please view our video or listen to our podcast)
