My Averse Reaction to Blocking Sites

During a recent coffee morning (a forum for the school to talk to parents about different issues), a fellow teacher asked my opinion about blocking specific sites for children. 

This question corrected to me was unexpected.

There have been times in my role as a technology coach and teacher that I have counseled parents when students are having a hard time finding balance with the technology they use. 

However, I would only monitor computer use and block sites as a last resort. I prefer to use education and open communication to influence behavior. 

Photo by Ludovic Toinel on Unsplash

Here are my suggestions for getting the process started:

Start when the child is young

When possible, begin to have conversations with your child when they are young. All the steps flow if a routine has been established when the child is young.

Use the internet together

Connecting to the point above, try sitting with your child when they use the internet. Be genuinely curious about what they are doing. If they are playing games, maybe you could join in. It is helpful for you to listen in when the friends are chatting with other players so you understand what they are talking about.

With your child's permission, of course.

Normalize conversations about internet use

Frequent conversations about internet use will normalize them and these conversations will be come a part of 

Normalize having screens always visible

This has to start at an early age and should happen in both the home and school. Students should know that an adult could potentially see what they are doing at any time. This is for safety and helps those who help them when they need it. 

(Have you ever tried to solve a computer issue when a student is jammed into a corner?)

Do not allow technology in bedrooms

Students will try to take their computers into their rooms and will use the excuse that they gave homework to do it. As much as students don't like homework, it is used as an excuse to get out of many things, isn't it? 

In my experience, students who bring computers into their rooms will often stay up later than usual doing things other than homework. It's best to leave this temptation off the table.

Have students self-monitor their use

This was an idea I had during the coffee morning. I suddenly thought of this while talking to a parent when discussing options other than full-on blocking or more monitoring. 

The idea is to have students chart their digital use. They would write things like the date, what they did, how they felt after it, and how long they used it for. The important one is how they felt, but I also think that keeping track of the time using it is important to know as well.

I should make that template.