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Ask HN: How do you prevent the impact of social media on your children?

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101–110 of 405 posts

Re: Ask HN: How do you prevent the impact of social media on your children?

#101
post #29

Four thoughts: 1. I've developed a analog->digital path for my kids. Before they can get a music player, they get a CD player. Before they get video games, they get board games. And then, for video games, before they get Super Mario Odyssey they get the original Super Mario Bros. Each of these "first they get" is a long period. Years long. Give them something that has limitations so they can truly explore it. Find th…

I find the overall approach fascinating, but I chuckled at this part because CDs are digital: "I've developed a analog->digital path for my kids. Before they can get a music player, they get a CD player." If anyone wants to start with analogue, perhaps start with vinyl, then cassette tape, and then CD. I had a cassette player before a record player, but vinyl seems easier to grok because you can use a steel needle to…

I get what scop meant. Family vehicles had cassette or 8-track players when I was a kid and I figured out how to use my parents' record player, but for the purposes of what he was getting at, CDs are a more "analog" experience than streaming music, and give you a feel for what playing an album is like. You have to physically put in and remove the disc to change the music, whereas streaming gives you any song at your fingertips.

Re: Ask HN: How do you prevent the impact of social media on your children?

#102
post #29

Four thoughts: 1. I've developed a analog->digital path for my kids. Before they can get a music player, they get a CD player. Before they get video games, they get board games. And then, for video games, before they get Super Mario Odyssey they get the original Super Mario Bros. Each of these "first they get" is a long period. Years long. Give them something that has limitations so they can truly explore it. Find th…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: How do you prevent the impact of social media on your children?

#103
post #29

Four thoughts: 1. I've developed a analog->digital path for my kids. Before they can get a music player, they get a CD player. Before they get video games, they get board games. And then, for video games, before they get Super Mario Odyssey they get the original Super Mario Bros. Each of these "first they get" is a long period. Years long. Give them something that has limitations so they can truly explore it. Find th…

I find the overall approach fascinating, but I chuckled at this part because CDs are digital: "I've developed a analog->digital path for my kids. Before they can get a music player, they get a CD player." If anyone wants to start with analogue, perhaps start with vinyl, then cassette tape, and then CD. I had a cassette player before a record player, but vinyl seems easier to grok because you can use a steel needle to…

I like the idea of vinyl for kids too, because of how tactile it is, but man, begin with a cheap player and cheap records. No matter how old they are, they will play with it like a toy.

The good news is my father's old slightly warped prog rock records are finally getting a lot of use.

Re: Ask HN: How do you prevent the impact of social media on your children?

#104
Ours are now a bit older - 17 and 20. So - on the one hand, I have no experience of kids who have lived an "always-digital" life. On the other, I feel I've learned quite a lot about how to think about this in a feasible / managed kind of way, and I think (?!) that we've emerged with two reasonably balanced kids who have both "real" and "digital" lives and a somewhat realistic world view. As a concerned nerd I've also been on the case from the beginning, worrying about it, trying different approaches, etc.

My strongest opinion is probably about the age that kids are exposed to this stuff, and the role that parents take (or - more often - don't take) in defining what is ok and what isn't ok. The headline here is that kids have too many gadgets and too much exposure to the online world, and they have this too young. IMO, it is not ok for a kid of 7 to be spending all their time looking at screens, let alone a kid of 3 or 4. I mean, really, I don't think it's ok for my son of 20 to be spending all his time looking at a screen either - but in that I now have limited (no) control :-)

In this - sorry - but parents of younger kids are often complicit. Granted, we all face huge pressure from all corners and I totally take on board that social media and the digital world in general is built in order to make us addicted, and our individual power is limited. But... parents often don't say no enough. It's understandable - they're tired, the kid is kicking off, pop a screen in front of them, job done. But - parenting is hard, and it's always been hard, and you have to work at it - whether it's learning to read, fixed bed times, eating vegetables. Letting your kid get away with stuff is going to bite you / them on the ass at some point. A screen is not a golden bullet, and as we all know it's also often actively harmful. So, sometimes you'll have to say no, and the kid will cry, and you'll be the bad guy - but that's ok. It's always been ok, it's not abusive, it's about setting sensible boundaries.

The thing is, you're not going to stunt your kids' social life or anything else by not letting them have a phone until they're 13 or 14. And - tough if they say "all my mates have them" - that's been the argument since I was a kid and Matt over the road had a Grifter and I didn't. My mum didn't take that shit back then and nor should parents now.

The "but all their friends are on there, it's how they communicate now" thing - I mean, yeh. But - if I'd spent 20 hours a day talking to my mates on the phone or even in person my mum would have (rightly) freaked out. It's not ok, and until they're 16 or 17, and even beyond! - it's ok to express your opinion and apply pressure as much as you can within the constraints of your world / network. After all, you're (probably) in charge of the PiHole, their phone payments, whatever - so you do have an element of control. And as the old trope says - "while you're living under my roof, you play by my rules"...

In practical terms - no phones in bedrooms, limited screen time, no screens (ever) at the table during mealtimes, some parental monitoring of what apps are installed, keeping tabs on email inboxes for younger kids. All the usual stuff.

Finally - lest I sound like a loon - all of this should be done with open dialogue, even from a very young age. Talking about access to pr0n, safeguarding, why unfettered access to social media isn't great, what harms this stuff may do, why you know better as a parent - all of this is best done in an open, friendly way. Open and friendly does not equal "parents are a pushover" - but this works best in my experience when you're very honest about why you have concerns and are applying the controls that you're applying.

Good luck out there.

Re: Ask HN: How do you prevent the impact of social media on your children?

#105
post #29

Four thoughts: 1. I've developed a analog->digital path for my kids. Before they can get a music player, they get a CD player. Before they get video games, they get board games. And then, for video games, before they get Super Mario Odyssey they get the original Super Mario Bros. Each of these "first they get" is a long period. Years long. Give them something that has limitations so they can truly explore it. Find th…

Are they allowed to play games at other kid's houses? Like, if they're at their friend's house and everyone is playing Super Smash Bros together, but they haven't "graduated" out of the board game phase, will they get in trouble for joining in? In theory I like your idea, but there are so many "edge cases" that make it a challenging thing to implement, and something that could backfire if its too strict.

Good question. Yes they can play. The main absolute no-go activity with friends is something with exploration on the internet. That includes things like YT kids. But, hey you want to play Smash Bros even though we don’t at home, sure have fun!

These are not hard and fast rules, more of a system. Our youngest plays video games much younger than our oldest kid, since we have video games in the house now and didn’t with your first. However, I still make sure my youngest is getting plenty of tactile/analog play in as the majority of time spent.

Re: Ask HN: How do you prevent the impact of social media on your children?

#106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find the overall approach fascinating, but I chuckled at this part because CDs are digital: "I've developed a analog->digital path for my kids. Before they can get a music player, they get a CD player." If anyone wants to start with analogue, perhaps start with vinyl, then cassette tape, and then CD. I had a cassette player before a record player, but vinyl seems easier to grok because you can use a steel needle to…

I like the idea of vinyl for kids too, because of how tactile it is, but man, begin with a cheap player and cheap records. No matter how old they are, they will play with it like a toy. The good news is my father's old slightly warped prog rock records are finally getting a lot of use.

Would not suggest vinyl for kids. That's a needle on the record player, it scratches everything up. Not easy to aim the arm to the beginning of the track.

Tapes are more foolproof. If you put them in the wrong way, the player won't close. And even though you can damage the actual tape part by mishandling it, you're not all that likely to do so.

Re: Ask HN: How do you prevent the impact of social media on your children?

#107

I've 4 kids, the youngest is 11. The rule in the house is; 1) no social media accounts until 13 and 2) one of your parents will be your 'friend' on that account. This is actually a pretty great expression of "kids keep you young." But, right now is right now and how kids communicate with each other is constantly changing - social media or not. So, if you're not a parent to a tween or teens now - I'd say you have litt…

>I'd say you have little to actually worry about as the landscape will be completely different in a decade.

Could be a lot worse though. Imagine if VR/AR does take off and your social media feed is in your eyes 24/7 rather than just when you take out your phone.

Re: Ask HN: How do you prevent the impact of social media on your children?

#108

>However, it's undeniable that at that age it's all about fitting in and it would likely make them feel like a bit of an outcast if I were to limit them from being a part of it, l Should homeschool. The elimination of peer pressure makes alot of these choices dead simple. "But all the other 11 yr olds are going to the 3am tattoo orgy" just isn't a counter-argument I'll ever hear in my household. The real trouble is t…

> The elimination of peer pressure makes alot of these choices dead simple.

Except you're not really eliminating any peer pressure unless you also lock them in your house for their entire childhood life. The moment they go out (alone or in your company), the peer pressure will kick in simply because "oh look they're all on those phones and I'm not".

Re: Ask HN: How do you prevent the impact of social media on your children?

#109
post #29

Four thoughts: 1. I've developed a analog->digital path for my kids. Before they can get a music player, they get a CD player. Before they get video games, they get board games. And then, for video games, before they get Super Mario Odyssey they get the original Super Mario Bros. Each of these "first they get" is a long period. Years long. Give them something that has limitations so they can truly explore it. Find th…

This is way too slow and thus will be only effective in baiting your kids to try it early or harder. Or give them an anti-tech superiority complex which is counterproductive. I'd say you need to start actually explaining how things work on these more advanced platforms immediately, as well as healthy patterns in use so they do not get sucked into it forever. And that these things are tools. It can be done ELI3, thoug…

My kids play Minecraft and Sonic all the time these days. The key is my kids have developed a sense of how some things are different than others and that is good and also bad. It’s a system that allows and encourages discussion.

Re: Ask HN: How do you prevent the impact of social media on your children?

#110
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every week since she was about six months old, I've taken my daughter with me to get groceries. She's absolutely fascinated by the grocery store: the rolling cart, the colors and textures of produce ("ta-to!"), the other shoppers, the illustrations on packaging ("bear!"). I hand her items and give her their names. She shakes them, rotates them, repeats their names back to me. But every time we go, I see at least one…

I used to judge parents who resorted to tablets to keep their children quiet. I don't really anymore. You don't know how exhausted the parents might be or how many hours they've already spent trying to entertain their kids in a more wholesome manner. I've taken a 2 year old on vacation and some of that time is spent going to unique restaurants that take a couple of hours for a meal. My toddler would get bored and squ…

It is possible to do without tablets/phones. It means you can’t do 2 hour dinners for the first 5 years. Always have a parent ready to walk outside.

Once the child is 5 they will sit and talk to you for hours, do puzzles, and play games.

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