Love Always Protects: Technology and Kids

Our speaker shared that his goal with this talk was to bridge the gap between parenting and technology.
3 steps to help bridge that gap are:

1. Know how our kids are involved
2. Understand the social/moral impacts
3. Understand and put into practice your role as a parent

First of all, technology is "amoral"; it is not good or evil, but is simply a medium in which we share information and stay connected.
We learned that over half of today's teens own a smart phone and that the #2 most popular activity with those phones is texting.  We also learned that social networking is the most popular online activity for teens today.  Some of those social networking sites include Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Vine, and Tumblr.

Technology can have both positive and negative social/moral impacts.  Some of the negative impacts include "cyberbullying" and teens looking for their value/purpose through social networking (the number of friends, likes, comments, etc) rather than through Jesus.
Also, more and more kids are using technology to engage in unhealthy behavior such as cheating in school, viewing pornography, and "sexting".

So, what is your role as a parent?  First of all, it starts at home with you.  Make your #1 relationship with God, check your own tech behavior,  and BE where your kids are!!  You will need to set boundaries and have access to their devices and accounts.  Teaching your kids biblical truths about purity, treating others the way you want to be treated, and other God-given truth will go a long way in bridging this gap.  Remember to utilize your resources (friends/other parents, church members, online resources, etc).  You have to set up guard rails, such as filters and website blockers, especially with young children in your home.  As your children grow and mature, your guard rails should change and ease up a bit.  Finally, you need to have a plan to deal with failure.

Our speaker shared some of his favorite online resources on the topic of parenting and technology.  Check some of them out to learn more:
    www.cpyu.com (Center for Parent and Youth Understanding)
    www.digitalkidsinitiative.com
    www.homeword.com (Culture Blog)
    www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/09/teens-social-media-technology-2015/

A great book resource is: "A Parent's Guide to Understanding Social Media" by Mark Oestreicher and Adam McLane.

If you would like to listen to Brandon's talk, please click HERE.
  (there are some technical difficulties at the beginning of the recording.....sorry!)

Love Always Perseveres: Being an Advocate for Your Child

Today, we heard a wonderful message from Raquelle Harris on how we can embrace the journey of intentionally supporting/advocating for our children.  If you missed it or would like to hear it again, please click HERE.

Elle shared a powerful Bible verse that we can pray for our children: Colossians 1:9-12

The definition of advocate is a person who pleads on someone else's behalf.
Raquelle believes that the three places we need to be comfortable advocating are:

1) HOME:

• Make one-on-one time for yourself and each of your kids.
• Regularly talk with your spouse about the attitudes, tendencies, and behaviors of your children.
• Set aside time for PRAISE.  Show your child that you are their #1 fan.
• Be interested: follow along with their lives, in and on every path.

     Remind your children that: "I will fight WITH you sometimes.....but FOR YOU always!!"

2) SCHOOL:

• Ask your child specific questions about their day that they cannot easily answer.
• Set up conferences/calls with your child's teacher and ask them difficult questions.
• Believe your children as often as motherly possible.  Build the trust relationship.

3) AMONG OUR PEERS:

• Control who and what your children are exposed to, even at the risk of others' judgement.
• Be intentional about the way you speak to anyone around your children, especially when you're talking about them and they can hear you.
• Don't be afraid to stand up for others....no matter what!

   It is important to have friends who will hold you accountable in your parenting.  And it isn't necessarily a bad thing to be convicted once in awhile, because it keeps you on track.

Raquelle finished her talk by sharing Romans 8:37, which we can view as our "call to fight"!!

If you would like to follow Raquelle, you can find her on Facebook, Twitter, & Linked In, or at her blog/website.

Raquelle has also written a beautiful children's book that you can purchase HERE.