The new Disney Movie, Turning Red, might have you and your child turning red by the time the movie is over. I haven’t seen it but have read enough reviews that it has caused me to pause.
We Are Not PluggedIn
This post isn’t about whether or not you should or shouldn’t watch it. Turning Red has been a good reminder to me that I need to pay attention. Everything we watch and listen to has a message. Whether it is a movie, tv show, YouTube video or song. The creator has a point or message they are trying to make.
Train Them to Evaluate
It is our job as parents to help our children learn how to choose which voices they want to listen to. When they are young we will need to make most of the decisions for them. As they get older and enter into the teen years, you should begin to have conversations with them. Teach them questions they should be asking before they choose to listen or watch. Is the creator speaking truth that aligns with your family’s morals and beliefs? If it isn’t, should they continue to listen or watch it?
Sometimes the answer is yes, but often it is no. If the answer is yes, it should almost always be followed up with a conversation. Ideally it would be watched or listened to together. Then take the time to discuss it. What messages was the creator trying to give? How does that align with our moral belief system? What did we learn from it? What messages should we take home? How would you have played it out differently so that it was more in line with how we believe?
Raising Adults
We can’t shelter our children anymore from the outside world, not that that was ever really 100% possible. Nor should that be our goal. Our goal as parents is to raise adults who are in the world but not of it. We need to equip them to evaluate the messages they see and hear. They need to know which to throw out, which to keep and which to run from.
The Conversations Are Happening
If we aren’t willing to have the important conversations with our children and teens they will get their answers elsewhere. Disney, Hollywood, TikTok and YouTube are all actively talking to your children about puberty, depression, porn, suicide, identity, value and worth. We need to be proactive and get the truth in them so that they can navigate correctly through the agenda of others.
Technology!
Knowing how to navigate technology and media is completely overwhelming! Technology is the first situation that we as parents can not go to the older generations for help. We are learning about it along with our kids and frankly they are teaching us. It is also changing at a rapid pace so once you feel caught up on things you blink and you are multiple steps behind.
Don’t let all this cause you to despair! Even though that is a natural response. Today we are going to share our go to resources to help you navigate all things technology. We don’t have all the answers nor do we do it all. Look through the list, evaluate the status of your house and pick 2-3 things you can do to make your technology use line up more with your families values and morals.
Start Now!
If you are in the KC area our church is putting on a Screen Sanity Conference by We Start Now the first weekend in April. The conference is Friday night from 6-8:30pm and Saturday morning from 8:30-11:30. This conference is designed to help parents unpack today’s hottest screentime topics and get you the tips and tricks you need to raise happy, healthy kids in an increasingly digital world. Sign up today at this link!
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