Children now have access to more technology than ever before. From phones, to computers, to tablets, we are living in a world with an unprecedented level of connectivity. With so many potential distractions, it can be hard to keep your children safe online. That’s why crafting a comprehensive family media plan is an absolute must for any modern family.
Having an effective family media plan will help your family navigate the digital landscape with safety and confidence. By proactively setting guidelines, parents can ensure their child’s digital presence is secure, while creating ample opportunities for quality family time. Our goal with this step-by-step guide is to provide all the information families out there need to get their own media plan off the ground.
What is a Family Media Plan?
A Family Media Plan (FMP) is an agreement between family members that outlines the safe and appropriate use of electronic media such as computers, cell phones, and television. It can help parents and children to understand the potential risks of technology and to negotiate acceptable behavior when using different types of media. The goals of a FMP often include keeping kids safe online and off, preventing overuse of technology, helping families stay connected and informed, and providing guidance on media choices.
One important aspect of any FMP is establishing clear guidelines for where, when, how, and what kind of media each family member can access. This may include rules about access times, content restrictions, and age-appropriate parameters. It should also communicate what the consequences are for violating these rules or for inappropriate online behavior. This helps create a sense of responsibility in children and teens for their online activities and allows them to recognize how their decisions can affect others.
Creating a FMP can be an effective way to promote positive technology use among families. Taking the time to come up with an agreement that meets everyone’s needs can set expectations around tech use that keep everyone safe. It also gives family members a chance to talk about digital safety issues, discuss strategies for resolving conflicts within the home, and develop a shared understanding of responsible media consumption habits. By forming this plan together as a team, families can gain control over tech use while minimizing the risks associated with it. To make sure the FMP is successful long-term it should be revised regularly as the family’s situation changes or new technology becomes available.
Why Should You Create One?
Why should you create a family media plan for safety? The answer is simple: to protect your children from some of the dangers of the internet, social media, and other digital communication tools. It is well documented that young people are exposed to inappropriate content and people on these platforms, as well as potential predators, identity theft, cyberbullying, and phishing scams.
Making clear rules about how your children use these resources is essential for their safety. A family media plan also allows you to set parameters within which your child can consume technology safely, without sacrificing their access to its many benefits. The emergence of smartphones and other devices have made it easier than ever for kids to access the internet, but they also present new challenges in terms of parental responsibility.
You may be tempted to skip creating a family media plan because you feel your children will not listen or follow through with the rules. Setting boundaries early-on around what is acceptable online behavior reinforces your expectations, provides opportunities for education and open dialogue about online safety, and helps them develop healthy habits around digital media early-on. This investment in time now will help ensure that as your child grows and explores more online content independently they will already have a good understanding of how to do so safely.
Elements of A Family Media Plan for Safety
Now that you understand why it is important to create a Family Media Plan for Safety, let’s examine the elements of such a plan. Most family media plans seek to limit the amount of time children and teenagers spend on screens, while also setting expectations and guidelines regarding how they can safely use technology. Depending on the age, home environment, and comfort level of different family members, the exact rules will vary. Common elements include:
• Set a common language: Defining terms related to both safety and media activities that all family members understand.
• Establish healthy boundaries: Identifying a baseline minimum amount of daily screen time, as well as appropriate times for digital devices to be turned off or put away each night.
• Establish ground rules/rules of behavior: Establishing expectations for responsible online behavior (e.g., being respectful to others) as well as household guidelines for device usage (e.g., no phones in bedrooms before bedtime).
• Discuss consequences: Laying out clear and fair consequences for any rule violations so that everyone knows what to expect if or when their actions cross the line.
With these elements in place, families can lay the groundwork for understanding, dialogue, and decision-making regarding the intersection between media and safety in their homes. Creating rules together is often more successful than imposing them unilaterally; open conversations enable all family members to better understand how media can both impact safety risks as well as be used constructively as a tool to promote learning, exploration, communication, and other positive outcomes. With thoughtful discussion and creative problem solving, parents and children can work together to make decisions about TV content, gaming platforms, social media sites, and other technologies which will foster safe habits now and into the future.
Guidelines for Access and Usage
Creating a Family Media Plan for Safety typically involves restrictions on media access and usage with set guidelines. Media exposure can be beneficial to children as long as parents establish effective boundaries that encourage responsible media use. When establishing these guidelines, it is important to consider factors such as age, media type, content rating, time limits, and manner of utilization. Scheduling an adequate amount of sleep for youths is another aspect that should be taken into account when creating the plan.
Many argue that strict regulation of digital-media usage could actually be counter-productive for children. Some research suggests that increased time spent using digital-media outlets leads to enhanced cognitive abilities in young people due to exposure to new ideas, skills, and knowledge (Kopacz & Hillard, 2020). Too much screen time can lead to physical health problems and lack of concentration due to prolonged exposure to blue light (Heathline Publishing Company, 2020). Parents must weigh the pros and cons when determining the appropriate guidelines for access and usage within the family media plan.
To ensure a healthy balance between screen time and offline activities is achieved within the household, one option is to allow certain types of use throughout the week while disallowing others. Because educational media consumption has been found to improve math and science scores in students (Romer et al., 2017), having educational games or apps available during certain times may be beneficial for younger children or teenagers striving for academic excellence. Yet restricting hours dedicated towards entertainment activity will then limit distractions from studies or other responsibilities.
Transitioning from limiting access and usage to exploring other aspects of a family media plan for safety: Establishing appropriate filters and education is essential in establishing a foundation for effective protection from negative content online. Educating family members about cyberbullying, digital reputation management, privacy settings on social networking sites, false information on the internet are all areas that need specialized attention in today’s digital world.
Key Points to Know
Creating a family media plan for safety involves setting guidelines on media access and usage taking into consideration a child’s age, media type, content rating, time limits, and manner of utilization. While some research suggests that more exposure to digital media has positive cognitive benefits for young people, too much screen time can be detrimental to physical health and concentration. Parents need to weigh the pros and cons when deciding appropriate guidelines for access and usage within the family media plan and transition from limiting access and usage to exploring other aspects such as filters and education on cyberbullying, digital reputation management, privacy settings, etc.
Establishing Appropriate Filters and Education
Now that access and usage guidelines have been established, it is important to take measures to mitigate parental concerns about exposure to inappropriate content. Establishing appropriate filters and providing education can be two effective ways of doing so.
Filtering software installed on devices used by children can help reduce the risk of accessing inappropriate content, such as pornography, violence, or hate-based material. Blocking access to these materials will provide peace of mind to parents and keep young eyes safe from potential harm. It should be noted however, that while filtering software can be helpful in keeping kids away from unwanted sites, it isn’t foolproof and cannot guarantee complete protection from inappropriate content.
It is also important to educate your children on internet safety and cyberbullying. Educating them about topics such as establishing strong passwords, avoiding phishing scams, blocking spam emails and understanding digital footprints can go a long way towards keeping them safe while they are online. By familiarizing themselves with these concepts, children will be more likely to recognize any red flags that present themselves on social media or other online platforms.
Appropriate filters combined with education on internet safety and cyberbullying should work in tandem when it comes to providing protection for your family’s online activity. While filters can ensure that undesirable material does not make its way onto your family’s devices, teaching your children how to identify dangerous online behavior is equally important for their safety.
Creating the Plan
With the level of filters and education established, it’s now time to move on to the next step: creating the plan. As with any plan, how it is constructed is critical for ensuring its success. The person/s creating the plan should be well-informed about their children’s activity; their age range; current and possible devices that could be used such as computers, tablets, phones, gaming consoles, etc.; and the websites their child may visit. This knowledge will be invaluable when creating a tailored plan that takes into account all risk factors and best suits the family.
If parents are inexperienced in implementing rules or guiding children through proper online safety practices or if they are having difficulty finding consensus amongst themselves (if there is more than one parent), then seeking external help such as professionals or trusted friends can be useful in finding solutions. It is important to remember that everyone comes into this process with different types of knowledge and experience; thus an open dialogue between all members involved should be encouraged before making decisions.
Once the decision makers have been identified and agreement has been made on their areas of responsibility, it will now become much easier to determine which rules should be put in place. These may include setting time limits for device use; talking about how personal information should remain aware from strangers; deciding which devices may need parental control software; setting boundaries for downloads and purchases; monitoring social media use, etc. While these measures are not foolproof, rules and being proactive around cyber safety still remain very important in helping to reduce risks associated with technology use and enable parents to better monitor their children’s online activities.
Drawing Up the List of Devices & Websites
It’s essential to create a list of which devices and websites your family will be using. This may sound daunting, but recognizing what technology your family engages with can help determine which areas need monitoring or additional protection. Consider drawing up a complete list of all computers, phones, tablets and gaming systems in your home—including any laptops or other devices when you are not there. Some open questions to consider include: What social media accounts do my kids have? Do they use any messaging services? How often do they visit YouTube, YouTube Kids or age-inappropriate websites? Are our laptop filters up to date?
It may be beneficial to look into parental control solutions for computers and mobile devices that allow parents to limit screen time, block inappropriate content and manage time more efficiently across different applications. Researching the options available for each device is a valuable first step.
Make sure to keep this list up-to-date as the technological landscape continues to evolve rapidly. A good practice is to occasionally audit the list and always make sure security measures like antivirus software and firewalls are up-to-date and active on all of your devices. By taking the time to draw up a comprehensive list of all online activity your family engages in, you’ll be setting yourself up for successful protection against potential threats lurking online.
Keeping Your Family Protected Through Technology
The truth is, no matter the amount of talking points and rules that a family agrees on, it can still be difficult to monitor technology use. Technology moves at warp speed and has countless permutations. Unless your children are completely cut off from all devices, this will always be an issue that needs attention in family media plans.
One argument is that allowing some technology use can actually be beneficial. This can include finding creative ways for teens to stay connected with friends, like virtual game nights or Discord groups. Being able to read the news online helps create responsible citizens. Helpful apps like Sandboxx which offer oversight streaming allows families to keep track over time without “over-monitoring”, unlike manually monitoring every online action. Allowing technology can give a sense of control, if managed correctly.
There are arguments for more stringent approaches such as blocking certain websites and applications altogether. Net Nanny is one such example of software that allows parents to precisely filter what their children are exposed to. This can negate any potential danger posed by unscrupulous web content or malicious hackers. There’s also social media filters which serve similar purposes. These options create obvious boundaries still provide some level of trust that kids won’t overextend themselves while browsing the web.
So while there are two opposing methods in approaching family media plans to protect your children – letting them explore freely versus restricting access – ultimately the ideas behind both approaches come down to helping families keep their kids safe while they navigate their increasingly digital world. While neither option may be completely foolproof, it’s important to remember that these plans should always serve as a learning platform for kids growing up in the age of technology. As you move towards creating a plan for communication with your child and monitoring their online activity, it’s essential to take into consideration your family values and together decide on the best approach for staying up-to-date with new technology advances and protecting your family from potential danger.
Communication with Children & Monitoring
Having a family media plan is a multifaceted way to protect children and their families. However, communications with children and monitoring of their behavior is equally important. Research has found that conversations between parents and children are the most powerful way to help kids stay safe online. Parents should ensure they have open and honest conversations that are tailored to the individual child’s maturity level; it is important for these conversations to begin early and happen often.
Assessing appropriate content, monitoring activities, managing usage settings, and setting rules help provide additional security. Parents can consider using parental control software or other applications to manage content and monitor access levels. If a child is playing online games, parents might set up a time limit or keep track of which games their child is playing so they know the environment their child is participating in. It’s also important for parents to regularly check their children’s digital devices such as laptops, tablets, gaming systems, etc., as well as their child’s digital accounts such as Instagram, Tiktok, Youtube and so on. Parents should review what activities children engage in online – this can lead to more productive conversations about online safety.
While technology can offer another layer of protection, it cannot replace parental involvement. Even with protective measures in place, there can still be opportunities where your child could be exposed to potential dangers. Parents need to be sure they are actively involved in their children’s technological lives by providing guidance and understanding any potential risks associated with technology use.
While having a family media plan is an imperative step towards keeping your family protected through technology, communicating openly with children and actively monitoring their activities alongside the use of other applicable tools helps ensure that everyone remains safe while taking advantage of all that modern technologies offer.
