Ep. 46: Parent as CTO

I am a passionate technologist as well as a parent. Our kids are growing up in a world ubiquitous with technology. Some of it good, some of it distracting, and some that is outright parasitic. Trying to control the technologies our kids get exposed to is a daunting task. I’m sharing some of my successes with a few failures along the way. You won’t be perfect, but you are not powerless.

Principles for Parenting and Tech

·         Modeling – Use tech how you want your kids to use it. Practice what you preach.

·         Friction – Make it harder to do things that you don’t want you kids to do.

·         Limits – You set them and enforce them. Kids will test them

·         Precedents – Once you make a choice, it is easier to stay consistent with that choice

·         Single purpose tech over multi-purpose tech

·         Pay over “free”

·         Know your kids and what is right for your situation