Our phone. We often have a love- hate relationship with it. This amazing device has it all; it connects you to the world, it keeps you up to date, it guides you on your way, it lets you listen to music & podcasts, it entertains you. But it is also sometimes just asks a lot of attention. Imagine being a 10 year old and getting for the first time access to your own phone, the device you see every older kid and adult around you using all the time. You are so happy, you are finally part of this world.
Instead of getting a guide about how to use the device in the best way, as a child you get mostly restrictions and limitations. Because as adults we know about the issues that can come along with the phone and we want to limit this for our children. We try to protect our children, but we actually need to change our perspective in order to succeed. We never had a phone at that age and never ever used that certain app that we are limiting for our children. How can we guide them?
How can we guide them?
The answer is simple, we cannot. We need to inform ourselves in order to be able to guide them. We need to learn about the online world of our kids and adapt so we can connect with our children’s perspective. But more importantly research shows that kids learn media-savvy behavior by modeling, education and training. So we actually should not only tell them what to do, also show them how to do it and let them train that behavior.
It requires to look (again) in that mirror and see how your actions affect your kids. It requires a fresh perspective on apps and games you don’t like, but your kid loves, it requires connection with your kid to be able to talk about this new world. Luckily also here, just like any other aspect of raising your child, you are not alone. It takes a village to raise a child.
Happy Cyber Vibes
ChatLicense was founded by a mom who went on this journey with her first child and realized we can and should do better as parents. I joined that journey and we developed an app for kids & parents. Kids get their onboarding and ongoing support through an experience game; they learn how to use their phones safely & resiliently by training their skills. Parents get that dashboard of information they need, short & snappy enough to learn, stay updated and start that conversation. Our mission is to be that much needed guide for families in online life. To create happy cyber vibes for all.
Let us guide you! Check it out now in your app stores or get it for free if you have KPN as mobile telecom provider.
