There are more or less 100 days of vacations and the classes arrive again. A problem in summer and, on occasions, it is how to have a great time ”. We are not going to propose that you climb the Eiffel Tower or bathe a jumpsuit with gel, as the Candance brothers sing, but we hope that our proposals will be a perfect excuse to unite and entertain the whole family.
Video game
The use of video games develops very positive motor and cognitive skills for the development of your child. The new video games based on body movement as a form of interaction with the game, less sedentary, help keep your child fit in a playful way. In addition, the Internet connection that the new consoles have allows you the possibility of playing online, which is a factor that amplifies your social contact, previously limited to your close friends.
Social media
Social Networks, far from encouraging behaviors of social isolation, enhance and increase the social circle of your children making them never alone. They are great spaces to share information from the network and learn together. But, obviously, there is the other side of the coin in which you have to take into account the risks.
Protect him and help him learn to protect himself. Privacy and intimacy are difficult to understand at his age. Remind him that his photo, his phone, and his personal data will be accessible to anyone if he publishes them on the Internet or on Social Networks. This data may have market value. Do not collaborate in the data traffic of minors. The possibility that someone can use your data for illegal purposes is very wide.
Instead of prohibiting, advise your child and accompany him in all his projects and doubts, in order to be able to identify risky situations in time, from which all of you will learn.
We propose the following activity: open a profile on each of your child’s social networks. To know, you have to know, and what better knowledge than that which is carried out on site. Participate and experience what a Social Network is from within in order to better understand the environment and the interactions that take place there. May your child always keep you in mind both virtually and physically. Remember that now, Social Networks are their world, and you have to learn their language, that will help you to know your child better.
Read the terms of use of the services your child uses. All Internet services must have conditions of use. Accompany him in the registration process. He will need you. You may not be authorized to use the service because you are under the age allowed. Sometimes these legal texts are not very understandable and are difficult to locate: if you need help write to us. Save a copy of the legal conditions and keep them. Maybe one day you will need them.
Mobile / Smartphones
Mobile phones have come to stay and more and more minors have one of these devices in their pocket or backpack. They provide us with security because they keep us in contact with them and we have them located. For them, it is the “center of their universe” where they keep their most precious “treasures”: photos of their friends, the things they like, their idols, their songs, and so on. If you allow him to carry a device connected to the Internet 24 hours a day, it is because you know that he is capable of assuming the consequences of its use: what he can and cannot do with it.
Teach him that laws also exist on the Internet. That the publication of data of minors on the Internet without the consent of their legal representatives can generate legal situations that are prosecutable and punishable. Remind her that she cannot post photos of her friends if her parents have not consented to it. It could be the subject of a civil or administrative conviction.
We propose a very easy-to-use technological tool to increase communication with your child (especially if he is going through a “little talkative” stage). Create a family group on WhatsApp, Line, or Tuenti Social Messenger. In this digital space, you can share your experiences of each day through comments, photos … It will keep you together and will be a great strategy to know your tastes and increase complicity with your child.
Remember
- We do not live in two worlds: virtual and real. Both are real since what we do in one directly influences the other.
- Digital is not limiting the conversation, it is increasing it through other channels.
- The best way to learn is by playing, having fun; yes, also with the “serious” things.
- Before forbidding you to use ICT, educate. If you have questions about how it works, ask your child or us.
- You are their best guide. Teach him the limits: how much, when, where, for what, and with whom.
Also Read: The Strategic Importance Of The Cloud In The Business Environment