A mom reached out to us about her 13-year-old son…
“He seems to be doing okay in school and has friends… but his primary interest is in screens, especially gaming and TikTok/YouTube watching. We’re okay with him using screens as a means to socialize and play together with friends and we’ve set up together some specific boundaries…
But I’m concerned about the type of [social media] he consumes… My son watched [XYZ influencer] recently so I watched some of his videos for about 15 minutes and the sexism/machismo just really turned me off. And [XYZ influencer] has millions of followers and has won an [award] recently even after [doing some bad stuff]. I’m just feeling like the pop culture world my son chooses to engage in is so disturbing to my core values and I’m having a hard time with that.”
We hear you.
We get it.
We made a short 3-minute video about what to do if you’re concerned about the content that your child is consuming.
We think you’ll find our response reassuring and do-able.
Thanks for watching this quick video about how to help kids be safe on social media.
Would you like to get my personal feedback on a situation in your family? Leave it in the comments section below. (The more detail the better.)
You and I can personally talk in there if you’re struggling to figure out how to talk to your child.
Thanks for this spark of hope as well as a reminder that listening to their answers to thoughtful questions BEFORE criticising what they are watching is the best way forward. My sons are intelligent and the foundations are there, so hopefully I will find, as you do, that I still have an influence too!
Kirsten, yes! Curiosity goes a long way. I used to criticize my kids’ choices of what they watched and let’s just say it didn’t go well. They stopped sharing things with me because they didn’t want to be judged, and I don’t blame them…