Do Your Kids Use Your Tech?

Having a whole troop of boys from 8 years old down to just 3 months, my boys are bound to grab my phone from time to time (or all the time!). There’s a big debate of how much technology our kids should be exposed to or if they should even have access. I’m not going to touch on that debate. Whether we want our kids to be on our computers, phones, tablets, gaming devices and other tech or not, we know there will be times and places that they will be exposed to tech. It’s the way of the future. The elementary school by my house – a low budget school at that – just got a series of tablets to use across the classrooms on campus.

Much of our children’s futures will be paved with technology right by their side. Because of this, I feel it is important to introduce your children to technology in appropriate ways, keeping moderation in mind. Here are some ideas for sharing your devices with your children while helping to keep them safe!

Corning Incorporated sponsored this blog post. The opinions and text are all mine.

Set Time Frames / Schedule – When we first started introducing our kids to our phones and tablets, it easily became a black hole for their attention. They could spend hours and hours on end playing games (educational or otherwise) if we didn’t keep close watch. We decided as a family on an appropriate time limit and also things that needed to happen before tech time could begin. For my older boys, that means a clean room, homework completed, and their simple chores for the day are done before they can hop on the computer to play learning games. It may look different for every family.

Monitor Their Use – Know what your kids are doing on the computer. You can set up separate logins for your computer with permissions, but carry over that same idea onto your other devices. Even if there aren’t permissions available, keep an eye over their shoulder from time-to-time to know what types of games they are playing, shows they are watching, or social media they are using and keep communication open about what is okay.

Use Tools to Protect Them Online – The most important area to protect your child, especially the younger they are, is from the web. Use blocking tools or a kid safe web to help eliminate a lot of the filth and danger, but know that they won’t block everything your child might be able to find.

Help Protect Your Device – Handing your tablet over to your child shouldn’t be a ticking time bomb until you face a cracked screen, broken keyboard, or busted frame. Use cases to protect your devices and talk about how to properly handle your tech. Most importantly, teach your kids to keep the devices up off of the floor.

Luckily, technology has advanced far enough to give us products like Corning® Gorilla® Glass. Have you heard of it? Gorilla Glass is a incredibly tough, visually stunning, and offers an incredibly sleek design that enhances the top technology of our days. Literally, not all devices are made equal. Some products have Gorilla Glass where others cut corners and use a screen that is more likely to shatter. This special type of glass helps protect against wear and tear, scratches, and is resistant to damage which is something all parents can use!

I’ve had a cracked screen on my phone before from my kids dropping it and it’s always so depressing! Anytime we’ve tried to cut corners and get one of the cheap off-brand tablets the screen breaks. While you can still use your device usually with a cracked screen, it totally changes the whole appeal of the device and makes it much more difficult to use.

Gorilla Glass is used in smartphones, tablets, and notebooks — all of our Samsung devices use it. Do you know if your device has Gorilla Glass? You can use their model verification tool to see if your devices or tech you’re looking to purchase has Gorilla Glass.

Corning® Gorilla® Glass has been used on more than 3 billion devices from 40 major brands. Is it on yours?