SEATTLE – Researchers from the University of Washington and University of Michigan found seven rules children want their parents to follow.
They are:
- Be present — Children felt there should be no technology at all in certain situations, such as when a child is trying to talk to a parent
- Child autonomy — Parents should allow children to make their own decisions about technology use without interference
- Moderate use — Parents should use technology in moderation and in balance with other activities
- Supervise children — Parents should establish and enforce technology-related rules for children’s own protection
- Not while driving — Parents should not text while driving or sitting at a traffic light
- No hypocrisy — Parents should practice what they preach, such as staying off the Internet at mealtimes
- No oversharing — Parents shouldn’t share information online about their children without explicit permission
The researchers surveyed 249 families with children between the ages of 10 and 17 about their household's most important technology rules and expectations, as well as what made those rules easier or harder to follow.
"Managing kids' technology use was once much easier for parents — they switched off the television when a show was over or kept an eye on kids as they used the family computer in the living room," said lead author Alexis Hiniker, a UW doctoral student in Human Centered Design and Engineering. "But now that so many family members have phones with them at all times, it's become harder and harder to set those boundaries."
Most of the nearly 500 different technology rules reported by families fell into one of a dozen categories, which included:
- No technology at certain times
- No technology until certain obligations are fulfilled, like homework or chores
- Fixed time limits on how long kids can engage with technology
- Cost restrictions
- Expectations to balance technology use with other activities, like playing outside
- Parent audits that grant them the ability to check kids’ phones at any time and
- access social media accounts
- Banning a particular site, game, activity or device
- Rules about online behavior, such as no bullying or bad language or sharing
- sexual content
While parents tended not to be concerned about different rules for parents and children, many kids saw that as hypocritical. Children also found it easier to follow household technology rules when families had developed them collectively and when parents lived by them as well.
