Onlife Roadmap For Parents

Now that you’ve reached the end of this web book, we’d like to leave you with a few key thoughts that encapsulate much of what we’ve shared. Consider this your “Onlife Roadmap for Parents.”

• Be your child’s best parent, not their best friend, when it comes to the onlife world.

• Model good onlife behaviour—parenting matters deeply in this space.

• Pay attention to what your child is doing online. If you don’t, someone else will—and you don’t know who that someone might be.

• Stranger danger is outdated. Teach them about the grooming process instead.

• Impart your values and encourage positive digital literacy. Don’t forget to have that digital dinner once a week.

• Establish time limits and teach the difference between being a consumer of social media and being a producer, creator, or change maker.

• Don’t forget about our Family Collective Agreement—a valuable tool for setting boundaries around technology use.

• Encourage a balanced approach to the onlife world.

• Make your child accountable for their actions, and explain what’s at stake regarding their digital dossier.

• Remind your child that technology is a privilege, not a right. Eliminate entitlement.

• Find ways to say “yes” when it comes to technology, rather than defaulting to “no.”

• Learn about the technology, platforms, and games your kids are involved in. It’s not as hard as you think.

• Talk to your kids about the difference between healthy human sexuality, pornography, and hypersexualization.

• Let your children know you’ll always love them, no matter what, and that you are a safe place for honest dialogue about anything happening in their onlife world.

• Lighten up, embrace their world, and enjoy the onlife experience together.

After reading this book, please don’t take away all their technology. Your kids are going to be okay—especially if you remain an informed and engaged onlife parent, which you clearly are by reading this book.

Our Final Parent Tip:

“When we share our concerns with our kids about their onlife world, we should do so in a way that ties into where they are today—relevant to their life and appealing to their intelligence and experience. This will help them make good onlife decisions.”

– The White Hatter