I really do love the technology age we live in. It wasn't too long ago that I had to wait for the afternoon newspaper to be delivered so I could check the Major league Baseball box scores. I remember when CNN news first became available and they had sports updates every 30 minutes. It was amazing.
We've come a long way, haven't we? Today's information is just a click away.
But sometimes we can be so connected to our smart phone and to social media that we neglect to connect to the people around us.
From time to time my family has a no media night. I am making a fresh commitment to do this every week. What does this look like? It's an evening without smart phones, without computers, without TV. It's an evening to enjoy dinner together as a family, to play an old board game, to take a family walk and most importantly to disconnect to reconnect. It ends up being like a 3 hour time slot.
Maybe a whole evening seems impossible for you. You can always start with just an hour of family time, or making dinner time a no media zone.
Crag Jutila, who is a great author, blogger, and leader in family ministry suggests the following digital guidelines to protect your children online:
- Keep computers, tablets and game consoles in an open space.
- Set appropriate limits for daily screen time.
- Children must not sign up for anything unless they get permission.
- Charge mobile devices in an open location overnight.
- When family time is on, all media is off.
- Randomly check your child's texts.
Here are two great books that address some of the digital media challenges that we face.
- Craig Juitla, "Faith and the Modern Family"
- Brian Housman, "Tech Savvy Parenting"
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