We preach to our children, especially our teenagers — think before you post, it is public and permanent. But how many times have parents thought before they uploaded a photo from a office party or maybe one of those silly quotes about if “Box Tops for Education were on wine labels, my kid’s school would be rich!”
Are we unintentionally sending our kids the wrong message?
We maybe monitoring our children but remember, they are snooping on us too.
What are they reading?
Last summer I wrote about the single parent that felt the need to use her Facebook page as a venting machine or some may call it a diary. Although her kids are young adults, I can’t help but feel this type of over-sharing is not only inappropriate, it is disturbing that an adult would act like this.
This type of behavior, regarding her dating experiences (a bad break-up), was a rant that you would expect from a teenager, not from someone in their 40’s or 50’s. If you saw your teen acting this way online, you would likely speak with them about removing that type of content.
We are our children’s role models online and off. It’s a fact, our kids spend more hours online than they do with us. Their cell phones are literally attached to their hands. Parents aren’t too far behind — they love their technology too.
Our kids are keeping in touch with us, virtually. Which is why it is imperative we walk our walk. Actions speak louder than words. Your keystrokes will matter.
We have to do more than talk about about don’t text and drive, be kind online, never drink under the influence, never post photos you will regret, don’t engage in bullies online – you have to be the role model that doesn’t engage in risky behaviors.
The following video is provided by #TalkEarly:
#TalkEarly was created with a simple goal in mind: Empower parents to be confident about their own decisions regarding alcohol, model healthy, balanced behaviors and create a foundation for starting conversations with their kids from an early age. Follow them on Twitter and join them on Facebook.
Courtesy of Talk Early
