By Clarist Mae Zablan
At the first Digital Parenting Conference organized last May 22 by the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT), a life coach stressed the need for parents to go beyond limiting and controlling their children?s use of gadgets.
Michelle Alignay, psychologist and author of “Growing Up Wired”, emphasized to the audience, which was composed mostly of parents, ?active mediation? as an ideal approach for children with gadgets.
“Sabi ng mga parents, dapat alam nila ang lahat ng passwords. [Pero] paano matuturuan ng self-reliance yung anak mo, paano ka magbubuo ng tiwala [kung inaalam mo yung password]?” Alignay said.
She added that the level of mediation depends on age. “We need to be developmentally-appropriate. Kung ang bata, grade school, then we monitor and control. Pero pag high school, then they can do active mediation,” Alignay said.
Digital parenting is defined as “teaching kids responsible use of information and communication technologies,” according to Genalyn Macalinao, planning officer of the DICT.
The speakers in the event expressed concern about the tendency for children to be overexposed to gadgets, and the physical and emotional health concerns that come with it.
Macalinao cited aggression, obesity, sleep disorders, and social impairment as among the effects of excessive use of ICT.
The DICT said it plans to hold a national digital parenting conference in the future to address the various problems that comes with the proliferation and overuse of electronic gadgets.
