by Jennifer Macon-Steele

Created on: January 24, 2010

A new study released by the Kaiser Foundation has found that children between 6 and 16 spend an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes a day on television, internet and cell phones. That's more time than a regular work week.

The reason that media time for kids is up is that there are so many new choices in technology. Kids now have cell phones that access the internet, personal computers in their rooms and handheld video games. New technology is everywhere, and kids are often among the first to want to use it.

Also being a child has changed socially. Now teens use texting and online messaging as a major way to communicate with their friends. The child who does not have access to e-mail, texting and a computer may find herself feeling out of place with her peer group.

Philadelphia mom, Janet Caruso, is torn. Her eight-year-old daughter, Emily, wants a cell phone. Caruso and her husband aren't sure.

"I would like for her to have a way to call me in an emergency," says Caruso, "but I don't if she needs to be constantly in touch with her friends."

It's a dilemma many parents face. As Moms we want our kids to be safe, happy and healthy. We don't want to take them away from their friends or turn them into outcasts among their peers. At the same time, if peers are engaging in harmful behavior then we want to protect our kids from that.

Most experts recommend guidelines for media use. These should be based on the child's age and level of responsibility. Kids can be asked to earn their media time through chores and good behavior. Internet and cell phone time can be monitored and rules can be made. For example, your thirteen year old might be allowed to text her friends from 3:30pm until 9:00pm. If she abuses that rule, the consequence is losing her cell phone for a designated period of time.

Technology is not the enemy. The appropriate response for parents is taking a hands-on approach to how their children use technology. Some parents don’t understand the world of texting, video chat and other technological skills that most kids use. Because they don’t understand, they ignore the problem. Suddenly they are faced with a child who texts thousands of messages a day and gets no sleep because she’s on the internet all night.

Parents need to make it their business to know what their children have access to and to let kids know that the parents will be the ones controlling these activities.

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