I’ve been a fan of the organization Protect Young Eyes and its founder, Chris McKenna, for years. So I was excited to read his new book, 5 Habits of the Tech-Ready Family: Raising Wise Kids in a Wild Digital World. Glad I did. He did an excellent job addressing the trials that parents face today, offering practical advice, and staying true to the core of parenting.
In the first chapter, McKenna admits parents wrestle with the challenging balance of technology being both a gift and a curse. “Yes, I want my son to take a phone … because the world has changed and there are no pay phones on street corners anymore. But I also need to discipline myself to check his location less and practice being okay with not always knowing. I need to let him be bored and independent sometimes, because those small discomforts are where resilience is born” (McKenna 5).
That’s the crux, right? We want our children to learn how to deal with boredom and become independent. Which means we need to let go and allow them space to grow and become resilient.
In his subsequent chapters, McKenna lists five habits of a tech-ready family.
Continue reading “Tech-Ready, Not Tech-Perfect: 5 Habits for Modern Families”