Raising Kids in a Digital World

Our kids are growing up in a world that looks very different from the one we knew. With endless information, entertainment, and connection right at their fingertips, technology brings both incredible opportunities and real challenges. In this blog post, we will give you practical ways to guide your children toward a healthy relationship with technology - while keeping faith, wisdom, and connection at the center of your family.

 

Parenting has never been easy! But parenting in a world where our kids carry access to an entire universe in their pockets? That’s something previous generations could hardly have imagined.

For many of us, the difference between the world we grew up in and the world our kids are growing up in can feel overwhelming.

We remember encyclopedias, card catalogs, paper maps, and calling a friend’s house to see if they were home. Our kids today can find answers to almost any question, get directions, connect with friends, watch videos, and access an endless stream of content – all within seconds.

There is so much good that technology can offer. But we also know there are serious dangers, especially when it comes to our kids. That’s why, as parents, we must be intentional about how we guide them through this digital world.

In our current message series, iParent: The New Challenges of Family in an Online, Non-Stop, Information-Overloaded, Broken, Unchurched World, Pastor Jim shares helpful insight for navigating some of the biggest challenges facing families today.

If you’re wondering how to take practical steps to safeguard your children while helping them develop a healthy relationship with technology, here are a few places to start:

Listen:

Take some time to listen to Pastor Jim’s message, All Things Phones.

Reflect:

Consider these important questions related to the message you just heard:

• Am I making decisions based on what’s best for my child or simply what everyone else is doing?
• What conversations do I need to have with my child about their online world?
• How confident am I that my child will come to me if they encounter something uncomfortable online?
• Do my own phone habits reflect the boundaries I set for my children?
• What is one change our family could make this week to create more phone-free connections?
• Have I asked God for wisdom as I navigate technology and parenting?

Dive deeper:

Let us suggest not stopping there. Go to school on this parenting topic and consider some of these resources:

Books:

• Screen Kids: 5 Relational Skills Every Child Needs in a Tech-Driven World by Gary Chapman and Arlene Pellicane
• Restless Devices: Recovering Personhood, Presence, and Place in the Digital Age by Felicia Wu Song
• The Tech-Wise Family: Everyday Steps for Putting Technology in Its Proper Place by Andy and Amy Crouch
• The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt

Online Class for Parents:

• FaceTime: What Parents Need to Know About Technology, Social Media, Video Games and More

The world may look different than the one we grew up in, but we don’t have to navigate it alone. With wisdom, intentionality, and God’s guidance, we can help our kids learn to use technology without allowing technology to shape who they become.

 

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