Have The Smart Talk for Responsible Technology Use

The Smart Talk is a free online tool from the National PTA and LifeLock that helps kids and parents prepare a contact for safe online behavior.  Have a Smart Talk with you kids about being responsible with technology.

Thank you LifeLock and National PTA for sponsoring this post.  

The Smart Talk

Have you had “the talk” with your kids? You’re dreading it, right? The talk that is important for your kids’ safety and future. The talk that can help them remain innocent a bit longer.

No, not THAT talk!

You need to have The Smart Talk to prepare your kids for safe online behavior and set the ground rules for responsible technology use.

It’s an overwhelming conversation to prepare for as a parent.  (It might even be as hard as the sex talk!) Cause let’s face it, our kids are growing up in a TOTALLY different technology environment than we did. We worried about prank phone calls and toilet papering houses not online predators and identity theft.

Why Families Need to Discuss Technology

Parents and kids navigate the digital world in different ways due to our different maturity levels and amount of life experience.

Children take to technology like fish take to water. This high comfort level allows kids to explore technology in new and exciting ways. It also makes kids feel safe and secure when using technology like nothing bad will happen.

Adults are generally more cautious when using technology because we’ve personally dealt with problems or heard technology horror stories about identity theft, sexting, online bullying, sexual predators, and photo hacking. We know bad things can happen.

Get It In Writing

Parents need to set up family rules for safe online behavior and responsible technology use.

The best way for families to agree on these technology rules is to create a contract that everyone must sign. Discuss the contract together so everyone has a clear understanding of expectations.

But where do you start the conversation?  What topics do you need to cover?  It’s enough to make your head spin!

The National PTA® and LifeLock have you covered!

• LifeLock, Inc. is a leading provider of consumer identity theft protection services. They partner with non-profit organizations to educate consumers about safe internet habits and identity theft.
• National PTA® is a nonprofit association that advocate for public education and provides valuable resources for children and families. They have millions of members who are devoted to the educational success of children and parent involvement in schools.

The Smart Talk Contract

The Smart Talk is a free online tool that leads parents and kids through a conversation about online safety and privacy; screen time; apps and downloads; texting and calling; and social media and respect.

The Smart Talk tool is full of thought provoking question that were interesting to discuss.

I walked though the contract with each of our kids and then printed the completed contracts.

Use The Smart Talk with Your Family

Don’t get overwhelmed by the technology talk! Visit Smart Talk and prepare a family contact for responsible technology use.