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The Great Cellphone Debate� Can you relate?

Play

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[School] PTA�[Presenter’s Name]

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Let’s Learn!

What does current research say about tween tech use?

What does “screen ready” really mean?

How can we support healthy tech use in our home?

SAY: We are parenting at a time when technology is part of our kids’ daily lives. Many of them knew how to swipe and tap before they learned to speak, and they have watched the adults in their lives use technology for just about every task they do. It’s not surprising that our kids are spending more and more time in front of screens, and many want devices of their own, as demonstrated in the video shown earlier, where mom and child were presenting their viewpoints to a panel to decide the fate of the great cell phone debate.

In this informational session, we will understand what current research says about kids’ tech habits, explore the meaning of “screen readiness” and discuss ways to promote healthy and responsible device use for all members of the family - not just our little ones.

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Truth or Myth?

What does current research say about tween tech use?

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About 80% of eight and nine-year-olds have their own smartphone.

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What the Research Says

Common Sense Media. (2022, March). The Common Sense Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens, 2021.

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8 to 12-year-olds spend an average of five hours per day using screens for entertainment (i.e., not for school).

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What the Research Says

Common Sense Media. (2022, March). The Common Sense Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens, 2021.

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Most parents check the digital content their kids use.

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What the Research Says

Pew Research Center. (2020, July). Parenting Children in the Age of Screens.

75 % of U.S. parents of a child aged 5-11 say that they…

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Screen Readiness

What does “screen ready” really mean?

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PhoneReady Quiz

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Reflection

Did any of the quiz questions cause you to think differently?
Did you discover anything new?
Were you surprised by the readiness score?
Do you agree with the score?
What else might you consider when thinking about your own child’s readiness?

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PhoneReady Quiz

Motivation

Maturity

Accountability

Responsibility

SAY: When to give your child their first cell phone is an important and sometimes difficult decision. This decision is not just about age. It’s about your child’s developmental maturity and your family’s values. It’s also about the steps you can take to help your child develop a healthy relationship with technology, starting with the responsible use of their first phone.

Hopefully, this quiz was able to help you think about four big ideas related to readiness:

Motivation: Why does your child NEED a phone?
Responsibility: Is your child ready for the responsibilities that come with having a phone?
Maturity: Is your child developmentally mature enough to manage their experiences with a phone?
Accountability: Are YOU ready to lead the charge and help your child develop a healthy relationship with technology?

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Screen Readiness ≠ Age

Situations, motivation and need
Personalities, interests and family values

Varies from family to family

Developmental maturity, responsibility and accountability

Varies from child to child

Clear boundaries vs. free exploration
Active vs. passive use

Different types of screen activities

Say: The most important thing to keep in mind is that screen readiness is not tied to age. Of course, it would be much easier if there were a magical age where kids were “ready” but that would not take really important factors like your child’s maturity and your family’s values into account. Even within the same family, screen readiness can be different from child to child based on their personality and levels of responsibility.

Different types of screen activities also require different levels of readiness. While your little one may have unlimited access to their Disney+ kids account, they might not be ready for that type of freedom on YouTube. A child may be ready to message a handful of agreed-upon family members and friends, but not be ready to explore the unfiltered Internet on their own.

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Parent/Caregiver Readiness

Am I ready to establish rules and reinforce them consistently?
Am I willing to have open communication and ongoing dialogue with my child about their digital life?
Am I willing to use tools and resources to help me be an effective digital parent?

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Group Talk

When your child asks to use new or more technology, what goes through your mind? How do you decide what to tell them?
How do you communicate technology and screen expectations to your children?
What steps do you take to help your child use technology safely and responsibly?
Where do you turn for information and advice on digital-aged parenting?

Choose one or more questions to discuss with your partner(s).

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Tips and Resources

How can we support healthy digital habits at home?

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Create Digital Expectations �As a Family

Invite all family members (especially kids) to help make the rules; encourage everyone to voice their opinion.
Talk about consequences; ask kids what seems fair if the rules are broken. It’s helpful to have a plan before you need it.
Display the rules and revisit them regularly.
Adults can model healthy digital behaviors by following the rules too.

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These Tools Can Help!

NOTE: Both videos will open in new tabs and are set to play the designated clips.

SAY: The Smart Talk, developed by National PTA in partnership with Norton, is designed to help you have important discussions and set boundaries together. After completing the Smart Talk with your child by your side, the tool generates a contract of your agreements to print and display at home.

�The Family Media Plan, developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics with support from AT&T, is an online tool to help you and your children set media priorities that matter most to your family and create a customized plan for every member of the family.

At the end of the session, we will share links so you can explore both tools and decide if you’d like to use them with your children.

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Have Ongoing Conversations

Ask questions about your kids’ media interests.
Engage in digital activities alongside them (social media, video games, YouTube, etc.).
Share your own experiences, especially digital missteps and what you learned from them.
Remember to laugh while you’re learning.

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Discussing digital experiences and exploring problematic scenarios (before they happen) can help young people feel confident as they navigate digital life.

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Digital Life Conversation Starters

Complete school assignments on a device OR work with paper, pencils and books?
Have one good friend you see everyday OR millions of online followers you never meet?
Lose permanent access to the internet OR be permanently quarantined in your home?

You saw/read something online that you thought was fake?
Someone you don’t know asks you to be friends on social media?
Someone posts a mean comment or photo about your friend?

Would You Rather …

What Would You Do If …

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Treat Missteps With Care

Think of missteps as learning opportunities.
Help your child think through what they could have done instead so they are better prepared next time.
Consider consequences other than taking the device.

Allow for natural consequences (being sleepy because you stayed up too late playing video games led to a poor grade on a test).
Remove a problematic app for a pre-determined amount of time.
Modify time limit rules.

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SAY: Mistakes are going to happen when kids face new situations, new pressures, or new curiosities. We all make mistakes. When our kids do, though, our first instinct may be to take the technology away, but this approach can backfire. Instead of the child reflecting on their behavior, they become hyper-fixated on the fact they no longer have the phone. Many times, there is a better approach to handling missteps.

If we can think of missteps as learning opportunities, it reframes the way we respond, replacing a “punishment” approach with a “coaching” one. We can talk our child through the scenario, helping them see where they went wrong, and brainstorm alternate paths they could have taken. You may still issue a consequence, but when pairing consequences with questions, conversations, and reflection, it helps prepare them for next time.

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Introduce Your Child to High-Quality Content

When kids engage with fun, age-appropriate resources, they are less likely to randomly search and find questionable content.

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Positive content

Unknown content

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Common Sense Media

Reviews and recommendations for parents

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The Achievery

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Continue Your Education

Learn about settings and parental controls for devices and apps.
Stay current with media trends.
Connect with experts who share tips for digital parenting.
Strengthen your own technology skills.
ScreenReady.com can help!

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What did you learn that you want to remember?

What will you do with this new information?

Which resources do you want to explore when you leave here?

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Call to Action

Continue the conversations at home using one or more of the following resources:

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Thank you for coming!

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Open Lab

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PhoneReady® Quiz

The Smart Talk

Family Media Plan

The Achievery

Common Sense Media

AT&T ScreenReady®

A collaboration between

SAY: Let’s quickly review the resources.

PhoneReady Quiz - You already took this quiz but may wish to revisit it or share it with others.

The Smart Talk - The Smart Talk provides a roadmap to discuss various aspects of technology-use with your kids, and to create rules together.

Family Media Plan - The Family Media Plan allows you to create a personalized media use plan to help you and your children set media priorities and establish boundaries around technology use. It also gives suggestions for dealing with difficult digital parenting issues.

The Achievery - The Achievery is a free digital learning platform that provides fun and engaging videos and learning activities for K-12 students.

Common Sense Media - Common Sense Media is a go-to resource to check reviews on movies, books, apps, and games.

You can use the handout to access the resources and to record login information for any new accounts you create.