Holiday Techspectations

see what i did there?

With the holidays coming in hot, this week I share my ideas about setting tech expectations for kids. I also tell you about the best gift you can give your mom friend and Paid Subscribers get a tutorial on how to prevent Snapchat messages from disappearing right away and an invite to help me beta test my first on-demand course. Let’s get into it!

Image generated with Canva with AI for Digital Mom

Holiday Visits and Tech

The Holidays are fast approaching. Its a good time to take a minute and think about your tech strategy for hosting & visiting.

I’m not going to pretend that my kids are not going to turn to screens at some point during some holiday gathering. My hope is that I’ve sufficiently explained my expectations and have gotten on the same page with any other adults we’re celebrating with. Here’s what I think needs to be addressed:

My Kids

My kids need to understand that they are not turning to screens the second we walk into a relative’s house. I expect them to interact with the other humans we are visiting with and look for ways to be helpful. We might turn on the tv or a movie at some point, but, “not for a while. I will let you know when so stop asking.”

The Other Kids

My kids also need to understand that there might be other kids who have different tech rules from their parents. We are sticking to ours unless otherwise notified.

They are not to go off and watch an older cousins phone/videogame/tv/whatever and certainly not behind closed doors without express permission.

If we are in a situation with kids of many ages, the younger kids are the default. If they are watching something boring, too bad. We don’t want to expose younger kids to things they aren’t ready for. “If you don’t want to watch Grizzy & The Lemmings, go outside and play catch with your brother.”

The Other Adults

When we are at someone else’s house, we can’t just turn on their tv like we live there. We have to ask. I also may need to check what’s going on with the host’s TV. For example, if a grandparent’s TV has YouTube with no restrictions (because they don’t watch TV because they are grandparents), I may decide my kids are better off watching from our iPad that we brought with all our parental controls set up.

Your relatives are not always an ideal police force but its their house so they are technically in charge. Let everyone know in advance what the rules are or set the expectation that all tech requests need to route back to you—as in “stop asking Grandma if you can watch YouTube Shorts—she doesn’t know what that is.” Remind Grandma to kick it back to you.

Worth Flagging

Best Gift Ever: Please consider gifting someone you love a paid subscription to Thoughts From A Digital Mom. They will appreciate the info, I will appreciate the support! Buy here.

Bonus Content For Paid Subscribers

Learn how to keep Snapchat messages from disappearing right away on your kid’s account.

Then, sign up to be a beta tester for The Middle School Course—the on-demand course that answers every question you have about technology for your Middle Schooler. Free subscribers can join the waitlist here