Parenting

Using Technology For Good

Posted: 3/31/2011

It’s a good idea for parents to communicate to kids that the phone is not a toy but an important tool that connects them to family and the world.

(NAPSI) - Teaching your children to use technology, such as mobile phones, ethically and responsibly not only gives you the opportunity to connect your values to their behavior, it helps them develop the skills they need to operate in today’s world.

To assist parents with information on topics ranging from sexting to phone etiquette to driving while texting, LG Mobile Phones created LG Text Ed. The program includes an advisory council of experts who provide materials for www.LGTextEd.com on a monthly basis.

The council suggests these guidelines:

• Kids under about 12 shouldn’t use a mobile phone for anything but calling parents or 911.

• For teenagers, mobile phones can be beneficial when plans change and they need to reach out to you to pick them up or provide help.

• If your child is at an activity or party, checking in with a parent via a mobile phone provides a sense of grounding. The kids know you’re being watchful and you know you can reach your child.

• Mobile phones can help your child reach out to a peer for advice, to provide support and to engage in healthy, meaningful social interactions.

• With fancy gadgets comes increased accountability. When you set guidelines and appropriate boundaries for mobile phone usage, you foster healthy communications, responsible ownership and adherence to house rules.

• Environmental awareness. About 130 million mobile phones end up in U.S. landfills annually, and could contaminate land and water supplies. Many socially conscious programs, however, can help kids exercise environmental stewardship by recycling mobile phones. For example, LG’s Txt 2 Recycle and ecoMobilization movement raise awareness about the ecological impact of e-waste. The programs motivate students and give them tools for action, such as contests to collect and recycle mobile phones to help reduce e-waste and raise money for any cause important to them.

• You can encourage good usage. Kids learn by watching their parents.

• Make sure your kids never share their mobile phone passwords with anyone except you.

• Examine your child’s cell phone bill—know whom they’re calling and when.

• Take advantage of usage controls such as the ability to restrict contacts to an approved list, limit purchases made through the phone, GPS locator and limit the time the phone may be used.

• Additional insights on how to promote sensible mobile phone usage according to the experts at the LG Text Ed Advisory Council are at www.LGTextEd.com and the LG Text Ed campaign.