Post Category → General Observations

Add a Biblical Insight: Turn a Child’s Anecdote into a Deeper Exchange to Encourage Biblical Thinking

Parent Encouraging Biblical Thinking at the Grand Canyon 300x400 - Add a Biblical Insight: Turn a Child’s Anecdote into a Deeper Exchange to Encourage Biblical ThinkingAdd a biblical insight to conversations with your child as they share their online experiences.

For today learn one thing that happened in your child’s online universe. Ask “So what happened today when you were online with your friends/at school?” or “What interesting/funny thing happened when you were playing Animal Crossing with your brother?”

If your talkative child shares an anecdote, ask some version of “What did you think about that?” to go deeper. To your reticent child, “Can you tell me a little more about that?” may encourage them to open up more.  If they know you will really listen to their answer, they are more likely to give you a real anecdote.

Thank them simply for sharing and then offer a relevant insight or explanation to encourage deeper processing of their experience.

Later that evening, how can you revisit that conversation to encourage biblical thinking?  Can you offer a biblically-related insight tomorrow?  If one does not come to mind, plan to spend 15 minutes of your free time—maybe when you’d normally check Facebook—to find one. Start by looking up a relevant word in the concordance at the back of your Bible or using an online search engine.

For example, perhaps your younger child saw his first fighting game on Roblox, or your Continue reading →

A Little Byte: Curate

An Empty Picture Frame

What do you see when you frame your family’s computer with your fingers and squint?  Seurat’s Sunday on La Grand Jatte? A chaotic Jackson Pollack?  A Steve Jobs original? A Disney collectible? Munch’s The Scream?

It’s likely no two parents will agree on what having technology in the picture looks like to a child’s social, educational, emotional and physical development.

For example, a reasonable amount of social time online for an only child may be different than for a child who has multiple siblings with which to interact. How do you need to frame and position your family’s use of technology so that it allows them to thrive? It’s easy to be the critic–much harder to be a curator.

 

Photo by seyed mostafa zamani via Compfight

 

 

What’s Your Philosophy of Technology?

4472813704 708cda65c9 - What's Your Philosophy of Technology?

Full of Energy!

 I intend to ensure my child will never access a computer outside of the library!

 I keep my child so busy he doesn’t have time to desire technology.

 I despair that my child likes technology!

 I don’t mind that my child likes it; it won’t hurt him.

 It’s a technological age; I’m glad my child likes technology!

My philosophy, as of this writing, is this:  It’s a technological age; I’m glad my child likes technology! And it’s also this: I sometimes despair  my child likes it!

Such conflicting philosophies create a confusing duality for my son when I help him manage his technology time. Continue reading →