Alliance’s Strangford MLA Kellie Armstrong has highlighted the challenges of being a parent in the digital age. Ms Armstrong was speaking at the start of Parents’ Week when the theme is “Parenting in the Digital Age.”
Ms Armstrong said: “Being a parent can be one of the most rewarding and fulfilling roles, but at times presents huge challenges. Challenges that change all the time in today’s digital age as new technologies and social media channels become available.
“As parents we will take time to prepare our children for life outside the home, but as technology increasingly becomes a part of our day to day home routines, we need to be aware of the dangers as our children spend more time online and less time in the real world.
“Parents’ Week is the perfect opportunity for us to talk to our children about using the internet and how they can stay safe online. We should encourage our children to show us what they like to do online and how it works. Building this open relationship from an early age is vital as very young children are now using internet ready devices on a regular basis.
“As parents we should also educate ourselves about having appropriate parental controls and filters in place on all our internet ready devices. The internet is a fantastic and invaluable tool, but like all tools needs to be handled carefully.”