The book I wish I read earlier (and believe all parents should read now)
As I've said many times before, I am so glad I am not a parent to young children right now. The stress would destroy me.
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I reckon trying to fend off Mark Zuckerberg and Sam Altman would be tough for even the most ferocious tiger parent - and I'm not - quite - the fiercest. Plus kids seem to grow up even faster than when my children were little. Our number one kid came home from the first day of kindy asking where babies came from. Terrifying enough for a first-time parent.
But a few weeks ago, I was at the park with our eldest grandson, now six, and he was talking to a slightly older kid, I'd say no more than eight. He was asking my grandkid if they were allowed to watch M- and R-rated movies including (I couldn't hear this bit clearly) something about stripping.
I was, at the time, completely shocked and upset and wondering what I should have said or done. Never have I dragged a child away from a sandpit so quickly. "Hey, time to go now, let's go!" Practically pulled his arm out of its socket. Poor poppet with a deranged grandma.
Wish I'd had a copy of Screen Wise by Madonna King before that conversation. Actually, I wish I'd had a spare copy of Screen Wise. I would have found the parents and handed it to them.
This is one of those books that you wish every single (or even married) parent or grandparent would buy - it's a "how-to" manage almost every single question you have about life, the wild, untamed internet and your family. I feel somewhat comforted by the attempt the federal government is making to curb the wildness. Sure, the porous social media ban might not work for everyone in every circumstance but it also sets the scene for a broader conversation. I also recognise that most of us need to do this at home, with our own kith and kin, have those........
