Technology at Home

One of the most frequent questions that the SBA Technology Team answers is, "How do I protect my students from finding inappropriate material on the internet?"  However, the goal should be that by the time the graduate, they understand themselves well enough to protect themselves as the move into adulthood.

Here are some Key Concepts and Tools to do just that:

Key Concepts:

• Technology is Amoral - You cannot use technology solutions to address spiritual/social issues. Technology is an accelerator (allows you to get into trouble faster or allows you to spread the gospel faster, depends on the heart of the user) - (1 Cor. 10:23)

• Start Early - Children that avoid online problems early have a better chance of avoiding many of the problems we see students having in Middle School and High School. (Deut. 6:4-9)

• You will never know or control it all - There are far too many options to completely lock a student down. If a student really wants to find trouble, they will. It is our responsibility as parents to teach our children how to guard their own hearts.  We should guard them heavily for younger students, but by the time they graduate, they should be doing most of it themselves.  (Pro 22:6, Eph. 5:1, Deut. 6:4-9)

• If they want to find trouble, they will - The key to raising students that use technology safely is to train them to guard their heart. Just blocking EVERYTHING does not train them.

• Friends can be source of temptation - Many times, the curiosity of your student is fulfilled by friends that send them down the wrong path.  Guard carefully your student's friends.  (1 Cor. 15:33, 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1)

Parent Tools: 

• Student Tracking

• Whole House Monitoring

• T.H.I.N.K. - Addressing Student Online Activity

Helpful Links:

• National Center for Missing and Exploited Children - www.netsmartz.org

• Caller Smart (Parents Guide to Internet Safety - https://www.callersmart.com/guides/73/Parents-Guide-to-Internet-Safety-Keeping-Your-Child-Safe-Online#/

• Parenting Magazine - https://www.parents.com/kids/safety/internet/

Techniques for your Home

• Practice good Tech Etiquette - i.e. no devices at the dinner table.

• Have a central place for charging - no devices overnight in the bedrooms

• Use tech as a family to solve problems - not just for social or gaming

• Take up devices during overnight stays

• Tech-free weekends

• Be involved in their gaming - keep the conversation going