Parents and Social Media: Setting Guidelines for Children

Contributor: Crystal Karges, MS, RDN, IBCLC, Director of Content and Social Media at Eating Disorder Hope/Addiction Hope

Parents today are faced with an overwhelming amount of information and pressure when it comes to raising children. With children having outside information more readily available via the internet and smartphones, many parents may feel as though they are losing a grasp on the things their child might be involved with.

The social media frontier is even more challenging for a parent to navigate, yet alone control. With the various social media platforms available, from Facebook to Instagram to Snapchat and more, how can parents enforce and establish healthy guidelines?

Setting Healthy Social Media Boundaries

Modeling healthy boundaries for your child is an important place to begin when it comes to internet use. Examine the use of your own time as a parent; do you spend a majority of time on online? Are you able to dedicate quality time to your family without glancing at your phone or scrolling through the latest updates on your social media platforms? Child often mirror the behaviors they observe within their own home, so take some time to reflect on your own online use.

It is also important to establish boundaries with social media use at home. For example, you might set a rule that phones are put away after a certain time of the day or when at the dinner table, etc. Consider having open discussions with your child about the social media platforms they are using, what they are engaging in, how to practice safe social media use, and more. Depending on your child’s age, you may consider the implementation of parental controls if appropriate on certain social media platforms.

Using a Force For Good

There is no denying the power of social media in our age today, and it is a force that can be used for good. Many social media platforms can be positive, uplifting influences, but sadly, there are countless other negative forces in the social media world.

Take the time to help your child learn how to navigate through this arena by establishing healthy boundaries when it comes to social media.

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About the Author: Crystal is a Masters-level Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) with a specialty focus in eating disorders, maternal/child health and wellness, and intuitive eating. Combining clinical experience with a love of social media and writing, Crystal serves as the Special Projects Coordinator for Eating Disorder Hope/Addiction Hope, where her passion to help others find recovery and healing is integrated into each part of her work.

As a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, Crystal has dedicated her career to helping others establish a healthy relationship with food and body through her work with EDH/AH and nutrition private practice.

The opinions and views of our guest contributors are shared to provide a broad perspective of eating disorders. These are not necessarily the views of Eating Disorder Hope, but an effort to offer discussion of various issues by different concerned individuals.

We at Eating Disorder Hope understand that eating disorders result from a combination of environmental and genetic factors. If you or a loved one are suffering from an eating disorder, please know that there is hope for you, and seek immediate professional help.

Last Updated & Reviewed By: Jacquelyn Ekern, MS, LPC on October 9, 2016
Published on EatingDisorderHope.com