We have made rules to help maintain order like, no email until chores and school are done. Our children do not get a cell phone until they have their driver’s license. Regarding face book we have only allowed our oldest to get it so she could get photos from the group of teens she went through Leadership LAB with.
Our censor for face book was that she had to okay her friends with us before accepting them. Right now she is at 25 friends, with several of them being relatives. We haven’t made a rule about how often she can check it because it hasn’t been needed. If she became addicted to checking it we would have no problem setting boundaries.
The most recent “rule” we have added, has to do with email. One of our children loves forwards and sending quick couple word emails. She would stop if we told her too, but we still wanted her to think twice before sending everything she came across. So this last we week we told her she needed to pray for her friend before each email she sent.
After some discussion that “Thank you Jesus for Suzie” wasn’t really a prayer, she realized she needed to really think about her friend and pray for her specifically. On the second day of this new habit, our daughter said, “I’ve been praying a lot for Abi today.” “That is great,” I answered. Then I encouraged her to tell Abi that she was praying for her and perhaps even ask her if there was anything she wanted prayer for. Her response was, “Good idea.”
To say the least we are pleased with how our new rule is playing out. So although technology is a part of our lives it is not going to control our lives. As we help our children transverse and keep balance in their lives, we remember first of all the first commandment: “Thou shalt have no other Gods before me.”