"Go to your room.” Grounding teenagers used to be as simple as refusing trips to the mall, cutting off phone privileges and taking away the car keys. Welcome to parenting in the 21st century. Restricting your child's access to a social life isn't as easy as it used to be. Kids are connected to their friends in ways you may not even know about.
According to reports by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project:
- 54% of teens text their friends on a daily basis and it has surpassed all other types of communication, including in-person contact
- 73% of online teens are using social networking sites
- 8% of them are twittering
These numbers are much higher for high school-aged girls. Kids are finding ways to keep connected that are not limited to nights out at the movies or going to the library to study together. And it's not just teenagers -- tweens and even younger children are using digital media to reach out to each other.
Grounding can be an effective way to send kids the message that bad behavior can have serious consequences, but what is a parent to do in the digital age? The answer is digital grounding. The Pew study reports that 62% of parents polled reported taking away cell phones from teens as a form of punishment.
Parents are pulling the plug on the internet and taking away the game systems too. Is digital grounding an appropriate form of punishment for your child?
The punishment should fit the crime
It's tempting to remove the cell phone or internet when your child acts up, but is it the right choice? The teen years are vital for kids to learn about social interaction, and like it or not, phones and social media are how most of them are communicating.
Grounding, digital or otherwise, is a pretty serious punishment. Maybe a total banishment of electronic communication is unnecessary. If socia media is getting in the way of school work, perhaps a break from social networking for a month or a semester until grades come back up is the way to go. If you are paying the bills for texting or cell phone use that is getting out of control, you can restrict usage until your child learns some responsibility. But remember, limiting your child's cell phone may limit your ability to get a hold of them anytime, anywhere -- a convenience many of us have grown to rely on.
Make sure digital grounding is effective
If your teen does not depend on digital means to connect with friends, then maybe old fashioned grounding is the way to go. If you do digitally ground your teen, make sure you can effectively do so. Sure, you can unplug the computer, but smart phones have internet access. Even if you restrict social networking sites at home your child may be able to use school or library computers to access them. Cutting off social media may require that you change your child's password, and to do that you have to have the password.
Close monitoring of your child's use of digital devices is always a smart idea. Limiting use of those devices as a punishment is your call.
"Go to your room.” Grounding teenagers used to be as simple as refusing trips to the mall, cutting off phone privileges and taking away the car keys. Welcome to parenting in the 21st century. Restricting your child's access to a social life isn't as easy as it used to be. Kids are connected to their friends in ways you may not even know about.
According to reports by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project:
- 54% of teens text their friends on a daily basis and it has surpassed all other types of communication, including in-person contact
- 73% of online teens are using social networking sites
- 8% of them are twittering
These numbers are much higher for high school-aged girls. Kids are finding ways to keep connected that are not limited to nights out at the movies or going to the library to study together. And it's not just teenagers -- tweens and even younger children are using digital media to reach out to each other.
Grounding can be an effective way to send kids the message that bad behavior can have serious consequences, but what is a parent to do in the digital age? The answer is digital grounding. The Pew study reports that 62% of parents polled reported taking away cell phones from teens as a form of punishment.
Parents are pulling the plug on the internet and taking away the game systems too. Is digital grounding an appropriate form of punishment for your child?
The punishment should fit the crime
It's tempting to remove the cell phone or internet when your child acts up, but is it the right choice? The teen years are vital for kids to learn about social interaction, and like it or not, phones and social media are how most of them are communicating.
Grounding, digital or otherwise, is a pretty serious punishment. Maybe a total banishment of electronic communication is unnecessary. If socia media is getting in the way of school work, perhaps a break from social networking for a month or a semester until grades come back up is the way to go. If you are paying the bills for texting or cell phone use that is getting out of control, you can restrict usage until your child learns some responsibility. But remember, limiting your child's cell phone may limit your ability to get a hold of them anytime, anywhere -- a convenience many of us have grown to rely on.
Make sure digital grounding is effective
If your teen does not depend on digital means to connect with friends, then maybe old fashioned grounding is the way to go. If you do digitally ground your teen, make sure you can effectively do so. Sure, you can unplug the computer, but smart phones have internet access. Even if you restrict social networking sites at home your child may be able to use school or library computers to access them. Cutting off social media may require that you change your child's password, and to do that you have to have the password.
Close monitoring of your child's use of digital devices is always a smart idea. Limiting use of those devices as a punishment is your call.
"Go to your room.” Grounding teenagers used to be as simple as refusing trips to the mall, cutting off phone privileges and taking away the car keys. Welcome to parenting in the 21st century. Restricting your child's access to a social life isn't as easy as it used to be. Kids are connected to their friends in ways you may not even know about.
According to reports by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project:
- 54% of teens text their friends on a daily basis and it has surpassed all other types of communication, including in-person contact
- 73% of online teens are using social networking sites
- 8% of them are twittering
These numbers are much higher for high school-aged girls. Kids are finding ways to keep connected that are not limited to nights out at the movies or going to the library to study together. And it's not just teenagers -- tweens and even younger children are using digital media to reach out to each other.
Grounding can be an effective way to send kids the message that bad behavior can have serious consequences, but what is a parent to do in the digital age? The answer is digital grounding. The Pew study reports that 62% of parents polled reported taking away cell phones from teens as a form of punishment.
Parents are pulling the plug on the internet and taking away the game systems too. Is digital grounding an appropriate form of punishment for your child?
The punishment should fit the crime
It's tempting to remove the cell phone or internet when your child acts up, but is it the right choice? The teen years are vital for kids to learn about social interaction, and like it or not, phones and social media are how most of them are communicating.
Grounding, digital or otherwise, is a pretty serious punishment. Maybe a total banishment of electronic communication is unnecessary. If socia media is getting in the way of school work, perhaps a break from social networking for a month or a semester until grades come back up is the way to go. If you are paying the bills for texting or cell phone use that is getting out of control, you can restrict usage until your child learns some responsibility. But remember, limiting your child's cell phone may limit your ability to get a hold of them anytime, anywhere -- a convenience many of us have grown to rely on.
Make sure digital grounding is effective
If your teen does not depend on digital means to connect with friends, then maybe old fashioned grounding is the way to go. If you do digitally ground your teen, make sure you can effectively do so. Sure, you can unplug the computer, but smart phones have internet access. Even if you restrict social networking sites at home your child may be able to use school or library computers to access them. Cutting off social media may require that you change your child's password, and to do that you have to have the password.
Close monitoring of your child's use of digital devices is always a smart idea. Limiting use of those devices as a punishment is your call.