Don ’ t be afraid to do occasional spot checks . Not every day , and probably not even every week . But every once in a while , if you notice one of your kids engrossed in a texting conversation , say , “ Show me .” As you educate them about the dangers , you can tell them honestly , “ I know you might not like it , but if you want a phone , Dad and I will have access to that phone whenever we want . And the more you earn our trust , the less we ’ ll look at your phone . In fact , our plan is to not ever look at your phone your senior year .”
Taken from Parenting Generation Screen : Guiding Your Kids to Be Wise in a Digital World by Jonathon McKee Copyright © 2021 . Used by permission of Focus on the Family . All rights reserved . Represented by Tyndale House Publishers , Inc .
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Jonathan McKee is the author of more than twenty-five books , including Teen ’ s Guide to Face-to-Face Connections in a Screen-to-Screen World ; If I Had a Parenting Do Over ; and the Amazon bestseller , The Guy ’ s Guide to God , Girls and the Phone in Your Pocket . He speaks to parents and leaders worldwide , all while providing free resources for moms and dads on his website becomingscreenwise . com .
Jonathan draws from more than 20 years of experience working with teenagers , studying and writing about youth culture and the influence of digital media , and raising three kids with more devices than they can count ! In 2018 , Focus on the Family aired a broadcast of Jonathan McKee talking about helping our kids learn “ wise posting in a digital world ” and plugging his book to teenagers , The Teen ’ s Guide to Social Media & Mobile Devices . It was one of the top broadcasts of 2018 .
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