The author is trying to limit her kids' screen time, especially on Snapchat.
Courtesy of Vanessa Gordon.
Last Christmas, I started taking silly photos with my kids, using Snapchat filters. My two children — ages 12 and 8 — had fun choosing different backgrounds, making funny faces, playing around with filters, and playing the interactive games on Snapchat, which are kind of cute. It was also cool to see which filters were new every few days.My daughter, Sarah, especially loved checking to see what was new. To her, Snapchat started as a colorful, funny, and playful app.My son, Ben, became interested for similar reasons. About a month ago, he started asking to use it more often to take funny pictures, play with the filters, and try the games. His favorite is a basketball filter, and another game where you bounce a ball and try to land it in a cup. He knows a few friends who use Snapchat, and to him, it feels like something everyone is starting to talk about.But what started as a fun holiday activity has emerged into a bit of a challenge I am now trying to carefully manage, especially since my children feel my phone is a liberty to play with.I don't want my kids to have full access to SnapchatI am not ready to give my children full access to Snapchat, and especially not on their own phones. I am also not ready to hand over my phone every time they want to text, play, or check a filter.Though I do like that they actively interact with their friends after school, I prefer that they learn to build friendships in person first, while also grasping the concepts of privacy and boundaries.I want my kids to know how to walk up to another child and ask to play. I want them to feel the joy of a kickball game, a dodgeball game, an afternoon at the library, or a rainy-day craft project that does not involve refreshing an app.
