Boarding Schools for Girls

The digital age is upon us, and young people have embraced it whole-heartedly. They chat, text, IM and tweet; and they do it all via their cell phones. Its convenient, but also problematic for parents whose teens never seem to unplug.

In an Oct. 1 Associated Press article, parents indicated that they are experimenting with various means of controlling their children's technology use in a way that encourages positive interactions without giving rise to parent-child confrontations:

We all know teens love their gadgets -- more for texting than talking. But the devices are posing some new challenges for parents. How can they teach their tech-savvy kids some electronic etiquette?

So far, parents are learning on the fly, imposing new rules for their young offenders such as "no texting at dinner." ...

It's not only cell phones that parents are restricting.

Many are establishing control over their children's computer use -- setting themselves up as administrators for Internet accounts, asking kids questions about who they are communicating with online, and at times looking directly over their shoulders at the screen.

Labels: technology, computers, texting, communication

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Teens have stronger ties to their parents today than any time in the past 30 years, according to a study from Project Teen Canada. Researchers said the results would probably be the same for the United States.

Every eight years, researchers with Project Teen Canada ask 5,500 teens the same questions about their relationships with their parents.

• This year only 42 percent of the surveyed teens said they had arguments at least once a week with their parents; in 1992, 52 percent of surveyed teens reported weekly arguments with their parents.
• Eighty percent of teens said they enjoyed their parents' company, compared to 70 percent in 1992.
• Fewer than 40 percent said their parents did not understand them, compared to 58 percent who answered this way in 1992.

Reginald Biddy, a sociologist at the University of Lethbridge, said that todays parents are doing a better job of balancing careers and family lives.

"Relational enjoyment requires focus, and focusing requires time," Dr. Biddy said in a May 14 article on the website of the New York Times Magazine. Parents are putting more time into their children, enjoying them more and having more influence over them, thus lowering stress for everyone, Dr. Biddy said in the Times article.

Positive relationships between parents and teens have been cited as among the most important positive influences in the effort to reduce issues including teen substance abuse, teen eating disorders, and teen pregnancy.

Labels: relationships, teenagers, parents, communication

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The social networking site Facebook boasts more 500 million active users. The users vary widely in age, but teenagers have staked their claim. For parents, the Facebook dilemma centers around whether or not they should “friend” their kids.

“The friending issue is a delicate balancing act between children thriving for more independence and their parents’ desire to see what is going on to make sure their children are safe. In nearly half of all cases, children said they would prefer to be friends with their parents privately on the web without their parents having the ability to post comments.” [Source: Reuters]

A recent Nielsen survey asked 1,024 parents and 500 teens about parental friending. Surprisingly, 70 percent of teens said they’re friends with their parents on Facebook. Though friending is a good way to keep track of your child’s online activity, it isn’t the only way. Keep a family computer in a common area of the house, rather than letting your child have one in her room. And ask her to occasionally let you see her Facebook page and friends list.
 

Labels: parenting, communication, internet, social networking

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 1 Comment

If you are re the parent of a teenager, you’ve experienced it: You’re having a conversation when her phone “dings” with an incoming text message. In the middle of your conversation, she picks up the phone, and reads and responds to the message. It drives you nuts, but how do you get that point across to your child?

“The point is not whether they… see it is rude. The point is that you find it unpleasant. The point is that out of courtesy to you, they should not take phone calls in the middle of conversations with you. It’s the same reason you take your shoes off when you go into someone else’s house.” [Source: The Globe and Mail]

The problem with trying to teach your children that texting during face-to-face conversations is rude is that they do it to each other all the time – and no one seems to mind. The larger issue is that teens need to learn to respect other people’s feelings and wishes.

Your teen needs to respect the fact that his texting during your conversations bothers you – whether she understands why or not.

 

Labels: communication, cell phones, texting

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 1 Comment