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The Smart Talk To Have

Smart-Talk_15 yrs Do you worry about your kids online? Why am I asking – of course you do. And you should. According to the Pew Research Center, 92% of teens are online daily, with 24% of them online almost constantly. I’d have to say my kids, both of whom are now in college, have had periods where they qualify as the latter. That’s why, over the years, we’ve had many discussions about what constitutes good behavior, safe behavior, responsible behavior. 

What we never had was a contract – a piece of paper where expectations on both ends were laid out in clear language and agreed to. It would likely have been a good idea.  Although 79% of parents surveyed recently by ResearchNow on behalf of LifeLock said they have a technology agreement with their children, only 6% say those agreements are in writing.  Written agreements tend to have a higher sticking power.

A new digital tool called The Smart Talk would have made all of this easier. Essentially, a conversation facilitator, The Smart Talk, a free resource from National PTA and LifeLock, walks parents and kids through a series of questions and answers to come to agreements on screen time, social media, texting, calling, online videos, apps and the like. Once the limits are set together, you can print out a personalized family agreement to tack on the fridge (or wherever it’s likely to be seen).

To road test it, I played both roles (as I said, my kids are away at college) to draw up a social media contract between Jean (the kid) and Mom (the parent). We agreed that Mom would have first right of refusal over social networks before I’d be allowed to join them, and that I’d be allowed to follow friends, family and celebrities (was that bad parenting? we’ll see), but not strangers or friends of friends. We also agreed that it was okay to share photos and videos we don’t mind parents seeing as well as those from friends (but only with their permission). Photos and videos from the Internet were off limits – for now at least. Finally, it asked a bunch of questions to better “personalize” the agreement: favorite app, #1 bestie, activities enjoyed out of school, things Mom does to embarrass me, etc. It took all of 15 minutes. Will it work?Smart-Talk_12 yrs

Having two teens, I can tell you nothing works all the time – but I think it’s a huge step in the right direction. That was the PTA’s impetus for getting involved as well. “As parents, we want our children to learn and have fun through technology, and at the same time, stay safe and develop healthy lifestyles,” said Nathan R. Monell, CAE, National PTA executive director. “The Smart Talk gives families a roadmap to have open conversations and establish rules to safely use technology and be responsible citizens in the digital world.”

If you’d like to give it a try you can find it at thesmarttalk.org.  Drop me a line and let me know what you think!