Tech Teens: Raising Kids in a High Tech World

Anyone with teenagers knows it's a different world from when we were teens. The biggest change is the ever growing field of technology.They have computers, IPhones, Ipods, xbox 360, Playstation3, Wii, cell phones, etc. All of these devices and systems allow them to interact with the entire world. Their influences stretch well beyond their families and school friends. The scary part is how young this interaction begins. Just when I think my older boys have matured enough to understand the positive and negative aspects of all this technology, my 10 and 12 year children are asking when they get their phones and why they can't have their own online XBOX account or Facebook.

How much technology is too much? And a favorite question of my kids, How old do I have to be?

This is something I wrestle with constantly. It's a whole new ballgame for parents today. Used to be you could teach stranger danger to your kids and it covered every person that walked within their scope of life. Today their scope is widening and most predators can hide safely behind a monitor or a microphone and neatly behind the profile of an innocent child their own age. My kids know not to give personal information willingly online, but look at me like I'm crazy when I explain how they can easily baited into giving this information without even realizing it.

This is a on going battle in my house and since there are endless topics, I'd like to start discussing technology and teens weekly.

Join me next Tuesday for the first part of Tech Teens, when I'll start with the subject of age. How old should a child be before allowing full access to the virtual world?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and opinions on this.

Thanks,

Kristin : )