Engagement & Wellbeing

Navigating our way through a digital world

"WHEN YOUR CHILD GOES ONLINE THEY HAVE LEFT THE HOUSE"

Last Wednesday evening around 25 parents and a large group of staff attended a very informative and engaging session facilitated by Lee from Batforce. 

We were reminded of how critical it is for us as the adults in the room to model the behaviours we want to see in our children: valuing connections, conversations and healthy relationships as our  number one priority over social media, mobile phones and technology.

In simple terms we need to remember to "Disconnect to Connect"- before we speak, eat, move and act. This means putting our phone down or away to have a conversation, so we can give our children our full attention and having technology free meal times.

Have you stopped to count how many devices you have in your home and where these are located? When technology is in use in the home, this should always take place in a common area so you can see, hear and know what your child is doing.

If your child is online, on any device, then they have left the building! Consider what you would expect and want to know if they asked to leave the house. Where are they going? What are they going to be doing? How long? Who with? Why? What is the agreement? 

When your child goes online the same questions apply! Your child also needs to be able to develop and  demonstrate to you that they have skill sets, trust and competency to navigate the online world or the devise in the correct way. They need to be aware of the dangers, what to watch out for and what to do when it doesn't feel right.

We strongly recommend you set clear boundaries for the amount of screen time your child has each day and ban screens from the bedrooms. Be aware that many apps have age suitability recommendations and you can research apps on Youtube prior to allowing your child to download them. You can also say no!

Attached is a handout that provides further information about conversations to have with your child!