Use these resources to help manage the use of technology in your family. Available in this section are the following:

• Tips for managing social media and smartphones
• How do disconnect to reconnect
• How to set parental controls on iPhone
• Links to resources for parents
• Information about Good Pictures Bad Pictures a good book to help young kids understand how to stay safe on the internet

Smartphones, tablets and other electronic devices that access the internet are exceedingly powerful tools that can be helpful when used well or harmvul when used poorly.  use the information below to better manage technology.

Click this link to go to a detailed description of how to master the following techniques to : 

• Use technology to protect yourself from technology
• Manage notifications 
• Go Grayscale
• Potect your homescreen
• Be a better text communicator
• Get better rest
• Set your phone down
• Keep your commitments
• Set times to go on social media
• Keep your phone out of your hand when speaking to someone.
• Reframe the way you think about social media
• Set yourself up for success
• Pay attention to your body

Consider waiting before providing your children a smartphone

Many child psychologists recommend waiting before providing children with a smartphone. Take a look at the research and guidance provided by the organization Wait until 8th by clicking this link.

Other resources for setting limits

This article from Family Education has 8 great tips for your family on how to set limits for your family's technology use. 

Here is a suggested Family Technology Use policy to help guide parents. 

Protectyoungeyes.com is a free web service offered by Covenant Eyes, the leading internet accountablity software company. Families can use the links below for tips on how to manage your children's safety when using internet connected devices:

How to Reduce Risk for Your Family on the iPhone and iPad

How to Reduce Risk for Your Family on Amazon Kindle

How to Reduce Risk for Your Family on XBox

How to Reduce Risk for Your Family on Roku

Additional tips and resources via protectyoungeyes.com

Setting healthy expectations for technology

The video above, featuring our CYO Camps Director, Shaune Randles, describes some of the great things that happen when we help our children disconnect from technology use in order to reconnect with God, family, friends and community. If we parents set the following boundaries in our homes (and observe them ourselves) we will see the fruit in stronger relationships within our families.

1. No screens at the dinner table - that space is reserved for family conversation
2. No screens 1 hour before dinnertime - kids need time to unwind and process the day without electronics
3. No screens in the bedroom overnight - don't let technology compete with the rest our children need

Be strong sometimes children get upset when we set limits on their technology use. Sometimes they get really upset. That's OK. As parents we have to be strong so our children can grow strong, even if they don't appreciate it at the time, they will appreciate it later. In the meantime, remind them that they do not own a phone or a tablet, we do. Their use of that piece of equipment happens only when we see that using it helps them grow into a better person. 

Does your family need to reset expectations around technology? Any time can be a good time to put healthy expectations into place. However, a particularly convenient time is after our children return from the experience of CYO Camp. These camps are a great opportunity for our children to grow in our beautiful outdoors and they are technology free! When your children return home from camp, they will have spent almost a week without technology and will be ready for a reset. Check out the CYO Camp website to learn more and sign up for camp!

This video produced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) illustrates three things we should tell our children to do if they see pornography: 1) Call it what it is; 2) leave it right away; 3) talk to your parents.

While it comes from a different faith tradition, the practical advice in this video is sound. Particularly helpful is the gentle tone of the response by parents. Pornography is a scary subject and when warning our children to stay away from it, we don't want to frighten or shame them. Parents: watch this video yourself and then watch it with your children. Use it as a way to start this important conversation.

Faith and Safety- Technology Through the Eyes of Faith
This site is a valuable resource for parents as they determine how best to guide their children in the use of technology. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in collaboration with the Greek Orthodox Chruch made this site possible.
https://www.faithandsafety.org/home

Enough Is Enough- Internetsafety101
https://internetsafety101.org/

Covenant Eyes
A monitoring system that you can put on a desktop and cell phones to filter content. Also has resources about what parents can do to protect children online.
https://www.covenanteyes.com/

Protect Young Minds
Founded by Kristen A. Jenson, the same author who wrote Good Pictures Bad Pictures, their mission is to "empower parents, professionals and community leaders to protect young kids from pornography, and promote healing from any sexual exploitation." Protect Young Minds has many downloadable resources for parents on how they can protect their children online. 
https://protectyoungminds.org/

Integrity Restored
Integrity Restored provides parents an invaluable resource in undersanding and overcoming the danger presented to children and adults by internet pornography. This post from Integrity restored describes symptoms of when our children are too connected to devices and not enough to friends and family and provides an example of the blog feature that the website has added to support parents.
https://integrityrestored.com/

Good Pictures Bad Pictures: Porn-proofing today's young kids
An illustrated, read aloud storybook that helps parents have the conversation with their children about pornography: what it is, why it's dangerous and how to reject it. It's easy for kids to remember and teaches them exactly how to respond to it. 
You can buy a copy of Good Pictures Bad Pictures from Amazon here. 

Setting healthy expectations around technology use in the home helps a family to connect with God and one another. Provide your children a technology free space around bedtime and dinnertime and use the practical tips below to help your children grow as people of faith.