Parenting GenZ

 Course Correction: Tips for Parenting GenZ

Hopefully, my last post helped you better understand your GenZ child. 

My goal in this blog is to share tips for setting boundaries on your teens' technology use so they live healthier lives. 

This is by no means a handbook. It's a list of ideas. Some will work; others won't; and chances are good that you will get this reaction.  →


1. Limit use of the smartphone to one hour a day.


2. Put off giving your child a smartphone; instead give them a phone with limited functions, like a flip phone.


3. Allow teens to be on social media, but on your computer. Choose media that allows brief and individual posts only.


4. Install an app on your child's smartphone that will limit the time on apps and shut down the phone after a period of time.


5. Create phone-free times during which no one has a phone with them. Many people make the dinner table a phone-free zone.


6. Engage children in experiences that build their independence and self-confidence, e.g. a part-time job, volunteering, and getting a driver's license.


7. Monitor your child's emotions and behavior. Remember that stress isn't a problem unless it becomes distress.


8. Encourage exercise. Exercise is a natural mood regulator.


9. "Prepare the child for the path, not the path for the child" (84). In other words, allow your children to make choices and potentially fail. They will be more resilient because of it.


10. Teach that every choice has a consequence. Elmore cites that teens are more likely to engage in risky behaviors and decisions when the consequences are put on someone else.


11. Ensure that rights are earned and come with responsibilities.



Resources:

Elmore, T. (2019). Generation Z Unfiltered: Facing Nine Hidden Challenges of the Most Anxious Population. Poet Gardner Publishing.

Twenge, J. (2017). IGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant and Less Happy- And Completely Unprepared for Adulthood. Atria Paperback.

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