Make The Internet Bring You and Your Kid Closer to Each Other

My son and I had that Yahoo Messenger chat session one night after he came home from school with a sore throat. He had a big Science test the following day about the Human Skin and we had to seriously review for it. The biggest challenge was not the studying part but how we can interact with each other while reviewing. You see, my style in reviewing my son is not really through memorization but by letting him explain how a process happens.

I was working on some writing projects when he arrived home and my laptop was still running. I decided to let him switch his netbook on and had him log in to his Yahoo Messenger account. He was excited when I told him that we were gonna review via chat. We don't let him use the computer on school days except when there's something to research on.

Since I was busy with my online work, I didn't have time to make a reviewer for the quiz. I found it convenient for us reviewing online because I was able to make an impromptu photoshopped "label the parts" diagram of the human skin. Then, we had a photosharing session over at YM. Neat, eh? My son was able to articulate himself more by typing in what he wanted to say. I guess, the output would have been different, slower, and boring if I asked him to write on a piece of paper instead. The YM review was something new and that made him interested. We really need to make an effort to keep our kids interested by giving them something new.

While some old school parents think that technology keeps their kids away from them, I think otherwise. I believe that, as parents, we should try to keep ourselves updated with recent technology so we can be able to relate more with our kids. My son and I both love to play Facebook games BUT we don't let him play computer games on a school night or when there are tons of school work to do. When I started to blog in 2005, I also taught my son how to articulate his thoughts and hone his writing style by setting up his own blog.

I guess my mommy blogger friends and other techie moms out there can totally relate to what I am trying to say. We can make internet technology work for both parents and kids as long as we don't forget to set the limits and to make them clear. We should also be on constant guard to check the sites that our kids frequent but not in an intimidating and annoying manner. The internet should never be the one in the middle that keeps us apart from our children. Instead, it should serve as the connection that keeps us closer to them.