Parenting: Guide your child to be smart with their smartphone

POLOKWANE – These days it is rare for you to see a person without a cellphone. Children as young as two-years-old know more about how to handle a phone than some adults. With a smartphone your child has the internet at their fingertips.

Magriet Groenewald is a social media expert and encourages parents to talk to their children about being smart with their smartphones. “Parents, we need to teach our kids to use their smartphones responsibly. Social media, and the internet, has almost become like a tattoo,” she said.

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She warns that whatever you post today could go on to haunt you 10 years from now. “Once it’s on the internet, it lives on forever.”

Magriet is passionate about empowering entrepreneurs, business owners, and influencers to show up online, but she is also concerned about the younger generation and the lack of knowledge parents have about social media and how to guide, monitor, manage and protect their children.

“I urge parents to talk to your children about being smart with their phones and to always remember that the screenshot is a game changer. Even if you delete a post and someone has taken a screenshot of your post, you don’t have any control over it anymore.”

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Estie Davel, mother of two daughters, said she has had an arrangement with her children from the minute they got their cellphones.

“For as long as I have to pay the bill, I have access to the phone at any time. One day when they work and can pay their own cellphones, I no longer have control over them, but while they are under my roof, I have access at anytime. I think if the parent and child relationship is an honest and open one, the children will feel safe to keep away when they feel uncomfortable with messages they receive.”

She further explained that it is almost impossible for children in high school not to own a cellphone as homework and school work is distributed on WhatsApp groups with photos and slides.

“There is no limited time set aside per day for cell phone use, for as long as it does not become unhealthy and interfere with academic time they may use their cell phones. As parents we also introduced a curfew rule that applies to our house, the children may not make or receive any messages or calls after 21:00. This is just to prevent the children from being kept awake after bedtime with calls or messages and because other people’s time must also be respected. To keep them safe on social media we as parents have access to their Instragram page and we can look judiciously at posts posted on social media.”

Groenewald said parents should pay attention and teach their children the following:

Before posting, they should ask themselves whether the post or the content that they’re about to upload can be seen by:

• Their parents or grandparents
• Their friends’ parents
• Their teacher or principal
• The police
• Scammers or paedophiles
• Future universities or colleges
• Future employers

“If the answer is no to any of these questions, then do not post it. Social media and the internet has great benefits for the younger generation, but it is our responsibility as parents to guide them in order to use it safely.”

Estie’s oldest, Chignet says as of yet she has not receive any messages that have bothered her, but if she does, she will block the number and talk to her mother about it.