I watched a news report on the Today Show earlier this week about a new smart phone app that allows people to text pictures to other people. That’s nothing new, right? Here’s what is: the picture will disappear within a few seconds after the receiver views it.
Why would you want to text a picture that disappears within seconds, you ask? Well, let your mind wander down that path and I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Needless to say, the app is popular among teens. That news report reminded me, once again, how important it is to guard my kids. It’s not that I don’t trust my kids. I simply want to guard them from behavior that could compromise them in any way. Sure, they are going to make mistakes, but I have the ability to limit the number of mistakes they’ll make if I’ll only stay involved in what they are doing….who they spend time with…..the way they carry themselves in the world.
I guess it’s no coincidence that later that same day I saw a number of Facebook and Twitter posts from teens that I know that raised my eyebrows. Foul language, drama, etc. Once again, I thought of the opportunity I had for a teachable moment with my own kids.
With all of this in mind, I wondered what YOU do with your kids? Do you approve what smart phone apps they use? Do you have rules for Facebook and Twitter? Do you know your kids’ friends? Maybe we can share some good ideas for guarding our kids.
SharpenHer.com 
I just had this conversation the other day with my 12 year old. He knows he has to give us the password and we can (and will) look at his phone at any time. He said other parents don’t look at their kids phones. I told him they probably do – they are just not up front with their kids about it like we are. And if they don’t it is a huge mistake! We talked about how other parents (including his pastors and their wives – ha), teachers, coaches, prospective colleges, employers all have access to social media and people can form opinions about a person based on 1 single post, re-post, comment or picture. All of my friends know I will tell them if their child posts something inappropriate and they should tell me too! This has worked well so far. I can’t imagine how different our lives would have been if we had so much access and such a wide audience at their age.
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I agree, it would be a huge mistake to ignore what are kids are doing! Thanks for your practical tips of ways to guard our kids. And, your insight into how quickly others judge us or form opinions about us based on our social media posts is good food for thought. As parents, we ought to be coaching our kids on how to represent themselves….not giving them full freedom to vent every unspoken thought with a few keystrokes!
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Tricia,
Is that called “Snap Chat”? If so, I am to blame for letting my daughter have it. I didn’t realize what it was for, and so I blame myself for not looking into it further. Also, she and a friend of hers have been having a fake Instagram “fight”. They think it’s funny because everyone thinks they’re serious. I have told her to stop because she’s setting a bad example in leading others to believe she has taken a “nasty tone” with another person. The response I received was, “Oh mom, Come on, we’re just kidding!!”. She just doesn’t get it. I’m going to talk to her about Snap Chat, but I will tell you that I have found (when she didn’t know I was checking), that she has kept her moral ground on many occasions when she could have caved and went along with some of the things boys are doing w/ social media these days. It’s scary stuff. My husband and I have been strict to the point of not letting her go to other’s houses to spend the night unless the situation meets the following criteria: 1) The family shares our spiritual beliefs 2) We know the child and her parents well 3) We know the child’s siblings 4) Their parents and we both know what the plans are for the night. She feels restricted, but it doesn’t matter how she “feels” as it’s our job as her parents to have her best interests and to make sure she’s as safe as possible. I encourage my friends, and that includes you, to be a lookout for us when it comes to our children and their involvement in social media. We are our brother’s and sister’s keepers! Please feel free to let me know if you ever see either one of them doing something that isn’t right.
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Shelley, I forgot the name of the app. I’ll look into it. Sounds like you have some great guardrails in place for your kids, as well as open communication. And I agree with you to be a lookout for each other. It takes a village!
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