Can Your Family Find Balance In A Digital World?

Posted by Michele McGraw on May 18, 2012 in Tech | 0 comments

Our lives today are very fast-paced and often the lines between personal and business are blurred. We are always connected and can work from just about anywhere. As with anything, at first it’s exciting, but at some point we all realize we need to strike a digital balance.

Here are a few of my tips for striking a digital balance in your home:

1. Set Up Family Digital Rules. Sit down as a family and decide what the rules will be. Include when and where the phone is aloud, schedules for video games and TV watching for everyone in the family including parents. Have each family member participate in setting up the rules and write them down. Post them where they can be seen by all.

2. Set Up Consequences. Once you have the rules, you need to decide what the consequence is when a family member breaks a rule. I like to use the money jar. Every time someone breaks a rule, they put money in the jar. The family decides how to use the money. The consequence is for both parents and ids.

3. Setting An Example. My kids live in a different time than I did. The Internet is part of their daily life. They do not know what it’s like to not have a computer or cell phone. Being connected all the time is a way of life for them. That is why I have chosen to show them how to be connected in a good way. We do not have restrictions on screen time because I want them to learn to self regulate.

If I feel they are spending too much time in front of a screen, I will mention it and they can do the same for me. That means I have to be very aware of the time I am spending connected. I have to be sure I am balancing my digital life.

We have set up our expectations, the consequence and then we have to practice what we preach. Living a digital life is all about controlling how the technology will enhance your life.

How does your family try to live a more balanced life in today’s digital world?