Teens in our Social Media World: The 3 Ways To Teach Your Kids How To Use Social Media - Part 2

I had a conversation with a parent this week that reminded me that NONE of us currently parenting are equipped to parent kids in this social media age. How you were parented is outdated for what your kids need today. This is the first generation being raised with social media at their fingertips.

You know this...social media isn't a bad thing in and of itself. How we use it and teach our teens to enjoy it will determine whether it plays a good or bad role in our lives. I shared some stats and thoughts about how we model social media use in my last post. After my conversation, I sat down with my bullet journal to jot down some thoughts:

Teach How To Use It

• Provide clear guidelines for what is good and appropriate to post. We specifically tell our kids their social media should not be full of selfies; particularly nothing in their pajamas.

• There is actually etiquette for how to respond to people. Teach your kids not to lose their sense of boundaries, kindness, honor, or Christ-like attitude.

• Keeping in mind they are branding Jesus.

• Walk through their first few posts with them.

• Don’t wait too long. You want them to live with you for several years while you work with them.

• Teach them about direct and private messages, because they will get weird things. They should know what to respond to and not, if someone hits on them they should bring it to you and ask how to respond to them.

• Initially we insist our kids social media accounts are private.

• Caution them about the search option. Help them fully understand that no setting will make a platform "safe."

67% of teenagers know how and actively conceal from their parents what they do with their phones.

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