Action Steps

1. Get involved in their digital lives

• Common Sense Media: Best of the web for families
• Show a willingness to listen, play and learn

2. Find quality content with CommonSense Media reviews

3. Initiate conversations 

• Tech Talk Tuesdays
• The Family Dinner Project provides recipes and tech discussion topics for family dinners

4. Consider family media use agreements

• Family Media Use Agreements from Netsmartz and Common Sense Media
• Customizable Device Contract from Common Sense

5. Talk about your concerns, and tell your children you won’t blame them 

• See CommonSense Media's Parent concerns
• Talk with other parents

6. Set a positive example

• Narrate your own tech use so they see the utility 
• Model the behavior you want to see
• Common Sense Media: Family media mgt.

7. Keep current and sign up for newsletters

• CommonSense Media
• NetFamily News

8. Get to know parental controls on your gadgets

• Internet Safety Cheatsheet from Jen Gordon has non-techie how-tos on parental controls with google, iPads etc.
•   Apple - Parent Controls
  • Turn on Restrictions (Parental Control)
  • Restrict In-App Purchases 
  • Set up Family Sharing to Approve App Purchases

9. Manage devices at home to promote sleep and healthy behavior

• Keep computer in a public place
• Have a cell phone parking area
• No phones at bedtime 
• Consider your lease policy. You pay the cell phone bill, the device is "leased" with expected good behavior 

10. Help older teens monitor their digital reputation

• Google Alerts
• Online Reputation Video from iKeepSafe