A look at the latest stories shows: once again, Jasmin’s mom has shared photos of her little daughter on Instagram. Yesterday it was funny close-ups of eating ice cream, today a long series of photos of swimming at the beach. Do you have to? When other parents deal with media differently, it’s sometimes hard to bear. You may have thought about how to approach other parents about this.
It’s worth talking to other parents about their media use. Often both sides learn during the exchange! Keep it all about you and use “I” messages. “I noticed that you like to share kids’ photos online. Personally, I only show my kids from behind on the web. What do you think about that?”. A good conversation can develop from an open-ended question.
Always remain polite and respectful, get straight to the point and make concrete suggestions. “I found exciting tips on creative children’s photos on the web, you might be interested in them.”. Use related links to give other parents access to information, such as to elternguide.online. If your counterpart shows interest, you will conduct an exchange at eye level on this basis.
Not all parents are aware that sharing sensitive children’s photos on the Internet can be problematic. Children have a right to privacy and should be involved in what images of them are seen on the Internet according to their age. If you sensitively approach photo-savvy parents about this, you’ll help protect children’s rights.
This also applies to other topics. “Which computer games are suitable for which age? What happens to my child’s data on the web? How do I set devices and apps to be child-safe? Which reports are real and how do I recognize fake news?”. The world of media is large, confusing and constantly changing. Parents have many questions and can not know everything. Especially when it comes to media use in the family, feedback from other parents can be important and sharing experiences can be helpful.
Whether it’s gambling with your girlfriend or movie night with your buddies – if children from different families use media together, parents should discuss it. You can share ideas about media education and consider together what arrangements you would like to make for the media experience together. Negotiating something like this can be a pain in the ass. But conflicts about other rules in other families can be avoided so well. Feel free to involve the children in this process and make your decisions transparent.
Other families, other customs. Who uses which media when and for what purpose is regulated individually in each family. Most parents act in good faith when it comes to media education. If the goal is to draw attention to the protection of children, helpful criticism is in order. If it is more a matter of different parenting methods or preferences, you should show tolerance. Because everyone uses media in their own personal way.
