Unwrapping new technology presents this holiday season? The holiday season is a popular time for gifting new devices like tablets, smart watches, gaming consoles and phones. While new devices can feel exciting, it can also feel overwhelming. You may be asking yourself “What should I do to maintain safety?” or “How can I set appropriate limits?”
The American Academy of Pediatrics Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health has introduced a Glossary of Digital Media Platforms that provides detailed information (including control settings) about social media, video sharing and gaming apps that might be available on your child’s new device.
“Parents often express uncertainty about where to begin when introducing a new device into the home,” said Megan Moreno, MD, MSEd, MPH, FAAP, co-medical director of the center. “This guide is here to help! It offers simple tips for setting up, managing, and keeping tech safe, while ensuring it remains fun and balanced.”
Here are some simple tips to help you manage new devices in the home:
Set up device control settings
- Enable parental controls: Turn on parental controls to block access to risky or inappropriate content based on your child’s age. This will help create a safer online experience. For example, parents/guardians can add website content filters to phones, tablets, laptops, and other devices. Gaming consoles often have associated parent control apps that can help you set limits based on your family’s preferences. To better understand what content and boundaries might be appropriate for your child based on age, explore our 5 Cs of Media Use resource.
- Get a good night’s sleep: Many devices allow the user to have specific restrictions for nighttime to prevent devices from disrupting sleep routines.
- Set time limits and reminders: Use built-in tools to limit time on their devices and set reminders to help your child manage device use effectively.
- Take a break: Apps such as Time Out are useful as reminders to step away from the screen.
- AAP’s Glossary of Digital Media Platforms, offering detailed information on social media, video sharing and gaming apps.
Talk about online privacy and security
- Enable privacy settings: Ensure privacy settings are turned on to protect personal information.
- Know what data apps collect: Walk through the various application settings together so you can be aware of what data apps are collecting about your child and how it is being used. Some devices such as smartphones offer the option to review or change an app’s permission to track your data.
- Take a digital citizenship class: Consider learning about online safety and responsible internet use together. Find more information on digital citizenship classes and resources you can explore with your teen here.
Set initial boundaries and check in on a regular basis
- Establish rules around media with input from your child.
- Have regular check ins: You can ask things like: “What’s working well?” or “What could I be doing better to role model healthy technology use?” Learn more tips on how to start a conversation with your teen with these conversation starters.
Learn about Social Media:
- Learn more about topics like privacy settings, customizing your feed, messaging controls, and parental controls. Together you and your child can decide which social media apps may be worth downloading versus others. Visit the Glossary of Digital Media Platforms to learn more.
- Educate yourself about different social media platforms and trends.
- As you explore technology together, be open to learning from your kids. They may have valuable insights or tips to share.
More information is available at Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health
###
The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.