Navigating the digital landscape can be challenging for parents, and actress Rebecca James has a straightforward strategy to manage her daughters’ screen time. With two preteen girls, 12-year-old Mia and 9-year-old Lily, Rebecca recently shared her approach with a popular parenting magazine.
“My daughter Mia doesn’t have any of her passwords,” Rebecca explained. “She has to come to me whenever she wants to log in. It’s not easy for her, and she feels embarrassed in front of her friends, but I believe in being firm.”
Rebecca takes her role as the gatekeeper of her children’s online activities seriously. “Mia is not allowed to have her phone in her room, and I’ve set specific times for computer use outside of homework,” she added.
Opinions about how to handle social media in children vary widely. While Mia and Lily aren’t teenagers yet, they are on the verge, and it’s perfectly reasonable to maintain some control at that age. As parents, we’re all trying to make sense of a world that didn’t exist when we were younger. Unlike in the past, kids today face a unique set of pressures, including online bullying and the constant scrutiny of social media, which wasn’t a factor in our own upbringing.
An alarming report from last year indicated that teenagers spend around nine hours a day consuming various forms of media, from watching TV and gaming to browsing social platforms. This is often more time than they spend sleeping or engaging in real-life social interactions. This statistic certainly prompts concern from parents like Rebecca, who aim to monitor their children’s screen time more closely.
Conversely, experts like Dr. Sarah Greene argue for a balanced approach. “When adults react with fear and isolation, they risk losing the trust of their teens,” she notes in her insightful book, Connected: The Social Lives of Modern Teens. “Teens’ need for social connection is crucial to their development.”
Ultimately, every parent is doing their best, whether that means granting more freedom or imposing stricter limits. If anyone has the definitive answer on how to handle this dilemma, we would love to hear it!
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Summary
Rebecca James is proactive about limiting her daughters’ screen time, emphasizing the importance of parental involvement in today’s digital age. As children face new challenges with social media, parents must navigate balancing freedom and supervision.