15 Best Tips for Parenting In The Digital Age 2021 ?

Kids have a vital role to play in the family and their opinions are valued by parents. The digital age is the most trending topic of this era and along with it come several challenges for parenting as well. A parent can be a source of inspiration for a child, and some of the best parents are those who have raised kids as digital natives. Here, we have listed 15 best tips for parenting in the digital age 2021 that can be very helpful for all age children.

Who does not love kids? Kids are unpredictable, and each day they do some activities which will bring joy and happiness to the house.

In this article, I have mentioned some of the common parenting guides that can be used for all age children in this digital age.

However, you must agree that raising kids is one of the most challenging jobs in the world. Sometimes dealing with kids can be physically and mentally exhausting.

You may have your own experience when your kids become stubborn at one thing, and when you make them understand, they come up with other demands.

Also, in this digital age, both parents and kids are dependent on technology. You can see parents are using different technology that helps them in parenting.

You may know that in this digital age, kids are familiar with technology; in fact, you can see that kids can use technology better than their parents. This is also creating a problem while parenting kids using technology.

Parents are using various tools and techniques to raise their kids. Many parents agree with the fact that you cannot raise two kids through the same techniques. If you have two kids, the method you applied to raise your first child may not be applicable for your second child.

As you know that different children have different behavior, and to raise them, you have to use other methods and techniques.

Tips for Parenting In The Digital Age

 I am writing some common parenting guides that you should follow:

Set Clear Rules

Rules are the most important to keep children disciplined and keep them. Rules are like boundaries that you must create for your kids to understand what kind of behavior is okay and not.

Children can be very naughty, and setting rules help them to limit the behavior. When children learn how to follow the rules at home, they follow the rules mentioned in their schools or other public places.

You should mention some dos and don’ts for your kids, which will help them know what is wrong and right. You should also mention some consequences when they break their rules.

In this digital age, kids can trouble by being naughty and using their devices for an excessive amount of time.

For instance, if your kids use their devices too much, you can set rules like using their devices only 2 hours a day. By setting screen time rules, you can somehow manage their screen time. You can even use technology and use apps like fenced.ai that help you limit their screen time.

Listen to Your Kids!

One of the common mistakes you make as a parent is by not listening to your kid. Parents usually ask their kids to do what they say without listening to what they want.

 

Being authoritative towards your kids can make your kids disappointed, and they start to hide their feelings. Many children get upset with their parents when parents do not understand their point of view.

With the increase in the use of the internet, kids face problems like cyberbullying and cyber harassment, and if you do not listen to their problems, they can get upset.

Also, when you do not listen to your kids, there are high possibilities of going on the wrong track.

Listening to your kids increases the bond between you and your kids. Moreover, when you listen to your kids, there is a high probability of them listening to you.

If you have a hectic schedule, you should encourage your kids to leave a message whenever they need to talk to you. When you ask them to ping you whenever they are in a problem, they feel loved and valued. They can share their problems or their point of view without any fear.

Fun fact children are more creative than their parents. Sometimes, your kids can give you better advice and solutions when you are in any problem. So why not communicate with kids, share your problems, and listen to what they have to say about them.

Explain About Where They were Wrong

There is probably no one who does not make mistakes. Be it adults or a kid; everyone can make a mistake, and making a mistake is not a big deal. However, repeating the same mistake can be a big deal.

Children can make mistakes knowingly or unknowingly, and you must tell them their mistake and correct it.

The common mistake parents make is by scolding their kids whenever they make mistakes.

But do you think scolding children whenever they make mistakes will help to rectify their mistakes?

Well, the answer is no. Children are already nervous when they realize they made mistakes, and on top of it, when parents scold them, they will be more anxious.

Moreover, when you frequently yell at your kids, they start to ignore you and lie to you about their mistakes. Constantly nagging kids about their mistakes will not help to correct their mistakes.

Instead, you should explain to your kid’s mistakes they made, what they should have done, what needs to be done in the future when they face a similar situation, and more.

Explaining to kids about their mistakes will make them understand what they should be doing, and they will always tell you whatever mistakes they made.

For example, when your kid is making an omelet, adds sugar instead of adding salt, then you should explain to them how it’s made, what should have been added, and for next time they will know how to make an omelet. Or you can even encourage your kids to watch cooking videos on the internet that can teach them cooking.

Warn Them About Wrong Things They Do Repeatedly

As a parent, you know, sometimes kids can be extremely stubborn, especially when watching videos on the internet or using their devices. Sometimes kids keep playing online games even when you ask them not to play.

When your kids do not obey you, you need to warn them before giving any kind of punishment. Do not ever jump into giving penalties when your kids disobey you. First of all, warn them about their mistakes.

Warning helps kids to mentally prepare for yelling and punishment they are about to get.

The most effective way of warning kids is by using the “ if…then” statement. When you say the consequences, children are likely to take your warning seriously.

Simply warning by saying “Do not use your devices for more than 2 hours!” might not be effective, and sometimes children can copy your tone and make jokes about it. Instead, when you say consequences, children are likely to obey you.

For example, “If you use your mobile phone for more than two hours a day, then I will take your phone for a month.” When they hear of not getting their phone for a month, they will obey you.

Give Punishment that Makes Sense

Never punish your kids physically; physical punishment never helps kids to stay disciplined. Also, physical punishment makes kids aggressive, they get scared of their parents, and their behavior starts to change when they get physical punishment frequently.

Rather than giving kids physical punishment, you can punish your kids by taking their phone or not giving their gaming devices.

You may be aware that in this digital age, how much kids love their devices. Hence in fear of not getting their devices, children will obey you and learn from their punishment.

Never be Harsh on Your Kids

Most of the parents think that yelling at kids will help to keep children disciplined. But it is not true when you keep yelling at your kid; they start to ignore you and will not obey you at all.

Parents who are harsh on their kids, their children are likely to be harsh as well. When you are harsh towards your kids, they will start to show aggressive behavior, and they can be harsh towards their peers.

Some more effects of harsh parenting are: kids’ academic performance reduces, limits them from taking responsibilities, and are more rebellious. They start to bully their peers physically or even through the internet.

Likewise, children who have harsh parents are usually unhappy, and they start to hide things from their parents. They can stay in in their room and be on the internet for a long time to ignore their parents.

They may also involve themselves in some bad activities on the internet. Children can also get emotional problems, anxiety, and lower self-esteem when you keep yelling at them.

Give Them Some Responsibilities and Make them Independent in those tasks.

You need to do many tasks in a house that is simple and easy to do, and some can be difficult. Kids can do some tasks like washing small dishes, walking their dogs, cleaning the children’s room, and babysitting their siblings.

Thanks to technology, your kids can sign up and learn virtually some life skills courses to survive like cooking, first aid training, housekeeping, personal hygiene, etc. Do not worry about not having time to teach kids some life skills to survive; they can learn online

You should assign tasks that children can do by themselves and ensure that they are responsible for their tasks. You should give responsibilities to your kids at a young age.

Also, making your kids responsible at a young age will make them independent in the future. When kids move out of the house for their college, you do not have to teach them anything.

Give Enough Time for Your Kids

Kids usually get upset with their parents as they are busy and cannot give them time. Children, especially toddlers, want all the attention of their parents toward them. They always end up doing many activities just to grab their parent’s attention.

Many parents use their devices in their free time and give less attention to their kids, which is a big mistake.

As a parent, you should give priority to your kids before anything else. During weekdays, you may not be able to give your kids full attention; you may have a busy schedule, and sometimes your schedule might get mixed up with your kids.

When you are busy, your kids might have free time and vice versa. And kids can feel they are not being prioritized and can upset them.

Giving time to your kids will make them feel they are prioritized. You will get to know your children in a better way when you spend more time with your kids. You will know what your kids like and dislikes, what they prefer, what they are feeling at the moment, and so on.

Spending more time with your kids will also strengthen family bonds and develop positive behavior among children.

Likewise, when you give your kids time, they will start to treat you like your friends; they will never hide anything from you.

You need to note that when you have quality time with your kids, make sure that you keep your devices away from you.

Treat Your Kid Like Your Friends

As a parent, you need to learn to treat your kids like your friends. As a parent, you need to create a warm and fun environment for their kids to share with you.

Being a friend with your children does not always mean you need to know every gossip of your kid’s school or need to play with them all the time.

When you are friends with them, they will never feel alone. Growing up, especially during teenage, children start to feel lonely; they think they are not loved by anyone else. Also, in this digital age, children can be the victim of cyberbullying and cyberharassment.

During this time, if you turn out to be a strict parent or never give them time, they will feel low, even more. When your kids are being bullied, they can tell you without any fear.

Use Humor

Most of the time, you may hear that you need to be serious with your kids; you should always be strict. In the name of being strict in front of your kids, do not put on a grumpy face all the time.

Using humor in front of your kids will help to lighten up your home environment. In any harsh situation, you should use humor that will help you to remove any adverse case.

For example, when your kids bring low grades in their exams, you should not constantly taunt your kids about their marks. Instead, you should use humor and encourage them to do better.

If you have a teenager, you may be aware that teenagers tend to be shy and awkward in front of you during teenage kids. During this phase, you should create a friendly environment and use humor to be comfortable around their parents.

Never Judge Your Kids

Trust me, judging is one of the easiest jobs to do, but you may not realize how your judgment will affect others. Judging is human nature, but most of the time, we end up hurting other feelings.

As a parent, you may sometimes judge your kids for the choices they make in their life. Sometimes your likes and preferences might not match with your kids, and making fun of their choices can dishearten them.

In this digital age, kids and teens are on the internet, and they are more familiar with current trends than you are. They love to keep up with the current trend. And sometimes, you may not understand what’s the trend is going on, and you may judge your kids instantly without knowing anything which can hurt their feelings.

Moreover, when you continually keep nagging at your child, keep judging them about their choices, which will make them feel bad and insecure about themselves.

Instead, you can use the internet, do some research and know what are the current trends, what are teens’ and kids’ preferences at the moment and be familiar with such trends before judging your kids.

Stop Comparing Your Kids With Others

Intentionally or unintentionally, you sometimes compare your kids with other kids, whether their siblings, cousins, or peers. When you compare your kids with others, they will get hurt emotionally and mentally.

You need to understand every kid is unique and special, and comparing them with others will lower their confidence.

By comparing your kids with other kids, kids can get nervous and anxious, and in the course of being the same as the person you compare your kids with, they will start to lose their identity.

Children start to feel insecure about themselves when you compare your kids with others.

For example: If your first child gets good marks at maths and the second is not as good in maths as your first child, you should not compare your children’s marks. When you compare their marks, this can affect them mentally.

Do not Fulfill all the Demand of Your Kids.

You might agree with the fact that children have lots of demand. Children want everything they see at the store or whatever their peers have.

With the advancement of technology, new devices are released every six months, and kids love to use new devices. If your kids are obsessed with technology, they may demand a new phone or device when there is a new phone or any other device.

Most of the parents even give them new technology thinking that they will learn how to use it.

But do you fulfill all the demands of your children? And do you think it is good to fulfill all their demands?

It is not good to fulfill all the demands of your children. When you start to fulfill all your kids’ demands, they may not value whatever you give to them. Your children will never understand how difficult it is for you to earn and get things for them. Also, children start to be materialistic and greedy.

Therefore, when you fulfill only the needed demand, they will value whatever you give to them. Moreover, they will understand the value of money and the hard work required to earn it.

Praise Your Kids When They are in Their Best Behaviour

Kids always feel encouraged when you praise and appreciate their work. Praising kids when they do something good will motivate them to do better.

While you are praising your kids, tell them about what things you liked the most.

For instance, when praising your kids, tell them, “Great job! I am proud of you for helping your friends.” You should praise your kids immediately when they take any good action.

You need to keep in mind that you should praise your kids for their effort and hard work rather than the achievement they made.

Sometimes even if kids work hard, they may not succeed; praising your kids will motivate them, and they will not feel dissatisfied.

One thing to note is not to praise your kids by comparing them with others.

When you praise by comparing with other kids by saying, “Good job, you scored better than Ben in the exam,” then your kids will start to compare themselves with their peers.

If they scored less than the person, they could be depressed and unhappy about the situation.

Do not Fulfill Your Kids Foods Tantrums.

Kids can get very picky with their food, and sometimes they can even create a scene at home for their food. Children always demand unhealthy food which they should not consume every day. Making your kids eat healthy food is like winning a battle.

Most parents try to provide all the food they demand. Will your kids respect food and your hard work to make the food?

Giving all the food that kids demand is not a good option as sometimes they demand fast food, and also, when you fulfill their demand all the time, their food tantrums continue.

For handling your kid’s food tantrums, you can either ignore their everyday demand or give them a warning. Furthermore, you can even give your kids choices on their food which can make them happy.

FAQ

How should parents treat their children?

Children should be treated with extra care; you should teach them what is wrong and right. You should even set limits like the age limit, the time limit for any kind of activity. Likewise, you should listen to your kids, what they are feeling and try to understand from their point of view. You must provide your kids with a good environment where kids can share anything with you.

What is good parenting?

Good parenting is all about focusing on your kid’s development, encouraging your children to do better, and giving children a sense of control. Good parenting includes letting kids be who they are and encouraging them to be a better version of themselves.

What are the benefits of good parenting?

There are lots of benefit of good parenting, some of them are:

• Good parenting enhances a strong relationship between parents and children.
• Increases children’s happiness and self-esteem.
• Provides a better communication environment.
• Reduces children’s negative behavior.

Conclusion

Summing up, parenting techniques for the first child can differ from parenting tips for the second child.

Your kid’s behavior also depends on how you treat them and how your parenting is.
Good parenting will teach your children to face any kind of situation effortlessly. There is some essential parenting guide that is applicable for all ages of children.