The Connected Parent
An Expert Guide to Parenting in a Digital World
0 of 1 copy available
Today's teenagers spend about nine hours per day online. Parents of this ultra-connected generation struggle with decisions completely new to parenting: Should an eight-year-old be allowed to go on social media? How can parents help their children gain the most from the best aspects of the digital age? How can we keep kids safe from digital harm? John Palfrey and Urs Gasser bring together over a decade of research at Harvard to tackle parents' most urgent concerns. The Connected Parent is required reading for anyone trying to help their kids flourish in the fast-changing, uncharted territory of the digital age.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
October 6, 2020 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781549104817
- File size: 206185 KB
- Duration: 07:09:33
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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September 15, 2020
How to navigate one of the most challenging aspects of parenting: screen time. "Today, virtually all children in well-off societies are growing up with a phone in their hand, access to much of recorded knowledge at their fingertips and a whole lot of questions in front of them about what life will be like," write Palfrey and Gasser. "While there are exceptions...the lives of children are increasingly mediated by digital devices around the world." The authors are well-situated to tackle the subject: Palfrey is president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and a former faculty director of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard, and Gasser is executive director at Berkman. Their philosophy is that parents must work to better understand how and why children use screen time in order to moderate the usage and help their children make healthy decisions. The authors suggest parents have open conversations about such topics as online safety and relationships established via social media, the dangers of sexting, and the importance of privacy. Other key areas of discussion include bullying and harassment; anxiety regarding one's online status compared to others; the balance between enjoying the interconnectedness of the internet and being addicted to it; diversity and civic engagement; and video games. Regarding the last, the authors cite a 2018 Pew Research study: "Around 90 percent of American teens aged thirteen to seventeen say they play video games on a computer, game console, or cell phone." The authors effectively combine research and anecdote, and they carefully sum up their recommendations at the end of each chapter along with a list of common questions. Because the influence of technology will only grow in coming years, this thorough investigation is a welcome addition to the parenting shelves. Solid scrutiny of the role technology plays in the lives of children and how parents can arbitrate their usage.COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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