Back-to-School: Time to Reset TV/PC/Internet Rules

I pointed to some brief and to-the-point online safety tips from the Illinois Attorney General earlier this week, but Common Sense Media has some more detailed advice for parents—and kids—about time spent online as the school year kicks off.

If you haven't checked it out, Common Sense Media is a good resource for parents seeking info about the latest movies, video games, and other media marketed to our kids.

First on the back-to-school list, establish some rules. With summer recreational use of the computer far exceeding academic use, it's time to re-establish some boundaries between school work and fun time on the computer. Common Sense Media President Anne Zehren says, "...with instant messaging and sites like MySpace and YouTube, it's easy for kids to let the line blur between their studies and recreational computer use. Now is a great time for parents to set some parameters about what kinds of media kids can use and when they can use it."

About those parameters...

• Make sure browser and email filters are in place for younger kids, and talk to older ones about where they can and cannot go online.

• Talk about Internet safety. Remind kids, "no chat rooms, no meeting strangers." Keep contact to friends, real-life acquaintances, and family. Remind them to come to you if they are being harassed or bullied online. Urge them to treat others the way they would want to be treated, online and off.

• Online communication and fun should come after homework is finished.

• When kids are doing homework, they should be doing homework. Not IMing, downloading music, or social networking. (This, I think, is the toughest thing to encourage with multi-tasking teens. Think about your own work habits—are you answering more IMs, and checking in on social networks and favorite news sites while working?)

• Establish cell phone rules: Remind them they cannot be used during school hours, and that it is easy to check out when they are using them.

For parents, Common Sense Media has this advice:

• Be involved in your kids' media lives. Know what they are watching and where they are going online.

• Keep TVs out of kids bedrooms. For more reasons why this is a good idea, check out my post on the "junk sleep" that one British sleep study says techie teens are getting.

• If older kids have computers in their bedrooms, "keep the bedroom door open and periodically swing by to monitor time and destinations."

Let us know if you agree with these recommendations and have others to help your kids establish a good media/studying mix this school year.

Related: Filters Help Shield Kids from the Unseemly on the Web
Are Your Teens Getting Junk Sleep?