{"id":7010,"date":"2019-08-30T06:59:22","date_gmt":"2019-08-29T20:59:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techdaily.com.au\/b2\/?p=7010"},"modified":"2019-09-06T14:22:18","modified_gmt":"2019-09-06T04:22:18","slug":"parenting-in-the-digital-age-video-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techdaily.com.au\/b2\/parenting-in-the-digital-age-video-games\/","title":{"rendered":"Parenting in the Digital Age – Video Games"},"content":{"rendered":"

Being a parent in the digital age can be tricky…especially when it comes to video games.<\/span><\/p>\n

Well digital parenting expert Jackie Coates, Head of the Telstra Foundation has come forward with some great tips to help out.\u00a0 Read below.<\/span><\/p>\n

Know what your kids are playing<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is no shortage of games for young people to access, the trick here is to make sure they are playing age appropriate games. Games come with ratings, just like movies so be sure to check them with your child and have a conversation about the ratings.\u00a0 But don\u2019t stop there, you also want to know what games your child is playing so you can talk about their gaming in a positive way and stay connected.
\nAsk your child to show you how to play \u2013 younger children love teaching the teacher.
\nStay in the loop about new games and educational games that can encourage creativity and problem solving.\u00a0 I find commonsensemedia<\/strong>\u00a0parent\u00a0website very helpful\u00a0\u00a0https:\/\/www.commonsensemedia.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Know who they play with<\/strong><\/p>\n

Multiplayer games are popular and why wouldn\u2019t they be, it\u2019s a social fun way to connect with friends.\u00a0 However, know who your child is playing with \u2013 are they friends or strangers, kids or adults?\u00a0 Are they using voice chat or text chat to communicate with each other? You need to understand the environment and set the controls you believe are right for your child.
\nMy ground rules are set parental controls for the younger children who may not be as savvy online and for my older teen, only have the voice and text channels open to friendship groups.\u00a0 Never share information to people you don\u2019t know, the stranger danger message applies online too.<\/p>\n

Teach them to play nice & play smart<\/strong><\/p>\n

I remind my kids that their actions in games can still impact others and I set some behaviour rules up front about my expectations re kindness, no bullying, keep it clean, nice, fun. I also talk to them about gaming protocols \u2013 things like don\u2019t go idle in games or frequently drop out of multiplayer games, don\u2019t team up against an individual or be over critical of other people\u2019s playing styles or shortcomings, or crash into people on purpose if they are playing racing games.
\nIf someone is being inappropriate, block them and if you think the behaviour is really bad, report them. Some gaming consoles have player reputation systems \u2013 a great starting point to talk to your child about what behaviours are acceptable to both you, and the broader gaming community.
\nIn gaming you want to teach them\u00a0the difference between competitive behavior and bullying, and between friendly banter and verbal harassment.<\/p>\n

Make sure your child knows not to share any personal details about themselves in games and make sure they set up profiles that use fake names.\u00a0 Teach them to play smart about their privacy and protect the privacy of others.\u00a0You can also lodge an illegal or offensive\u00a0digital\u00a0content complaint via the\u00a0Office of the Children\u2019s eSafety Commissioner<\/a>.\u00a0Download our\u00a0Parenting\u00a0Tipsheet: Inappropriate Content (PDF, 161kB)<\/a><\/p>\n

Know when to switch-off<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s all too easy for kids to get deeply engrossed for hours while playing games, meanwhile homework, chores and other activities fall by the wayside.<\/p>\n

Before spiralling into long-term habits, it\u2019s important to set time limits and guidelines to encourage regular screen breaks and a healthy balance between their online and offline worlds.\u00a0 I recommend a couple of hours max and avoid the all-nighters that some teens push for.<\/p>\n

This is an area you need to stay on top of and be consistent \u2013 make sure your rules are clear and enforced.\u00a0 In our house we have a schedule that limits opportunities for gaming – no games during the week as homework and family time takes precedence, Friday night we let the leash off a bit, and only short gaming stints on the weekend in between sport and other activities.<\/p>\n

Check your operating system, search engine, and specific gaming platforms for individual controls to help manage your kids’ experience.<\/p>\n

There are also ways to monitor activity and implement restrictions on specific devices. For our products and services, we recommend\u00a0Telstra Mobile Protect<\/a>\u00a0for mobile devices and\u00a0Telstra Broadband Protect<\/a>\u00a0for your home broadband. For example, With Telstra Broadband Protect you can set parental controls.<\/p>\n

You can block certain websites or set up Access Time Restrictions. This means you can block all internet access at selected times, and you can also set up Homework Time, which only blocks known social networks and gaming websites, but allows your kids access to the internet for study. You can also choose a filter from the industry endorsed\u00a0Family Friendly Filter scheme<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Being a parent in the digital age can be tricky…especially when it comes to video games. Well digital parenting expert Jackie Coates, Head of the Telstra Foundation has come forward with some great tips to help out.\u00a0 Read below. Know what your kids are playing There is no shortage of games for young people to access, the trick here is[Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[825],"tags":[1872,1367,1870,1871,25],"class_list":["post-7010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tips-2","tag-digital-parenting","tag-online-safety","tag-parenting","tag-parenting-tips","tag-video-games"],"yoast_head":"\nParenting in the Digital Age - Video Games - Tech Daily with Andy Wells<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/techdaily.com.au\/b2\/parenting-in-the-digital-age-video-games\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Parenting in the Digital Age - Video Games - Tech Daily with Andy Wells\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Being a parent in the digital age can be tricky…especially when it comes to video games. 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