I’ve watched her do it. After the bedtime stories, the last sip of water, the whispered goodnight—she’ll tiptoe back to their tablet. Her thumb hovering over the screen before she checks the latest parental controls. That quiet strength in her eyes? It’s the same look she’d give when teaching them to cross the street. We’ve all been there, haven’t we? That moment you realize you’re raising a village inside a digital world.
The Screen Isn’t Just a Window
Remember when our kids’ biggest playground was the backyard? Now they’re building sandcastles in digital spaces we’ve barely visited.
It’s tempting to rely on the internet for support—but parenting in the digital age is a whole new ballgame. We’ve watched our littles press their tiny fingerprints against the glass, and oh, that moment when the realization hits—everything they share online is permanent.
And here’s the thing we forget sometimes—they’re online every day without a clue about the risks. The parental controls? They’re the fence, sure. But the village is built with trust.
Parenting Between the Lines of Code
Parental controls are essential—but they can only do so much, right? We’ve got them, and still, we’ve got that moment where we pause, staring at the settings.
We sit down with them, and I’m reminded—how different this is from teaching them to look both ways before crossing. Teaching them about online safety? It’s become just as important as teaching them to look both ways. You know what I mean?
Yet, we stumble when we imagine the types of personal info they might innocently share online. And here’s where we’ve learned—apps aren’t the village. The trust is the village. It’s like that Korean saying about it taking a village—only now the village has Wi-Fi!
We wonder, how do we keep their digital footprint safe, while still letting them explore?
So how do we navigate this new digital playground together?
Trust as the Strongest Password
We’ve all had that moment—watching our child’s face light up when they discover something new. But then we ask—what do you want them to do when they stumble upon something that confuses her? That worries her?
Open conversations are impossible without trust and compassion.
One awkward internet safety chat isn’t enough—this needs to become part of our everyday life. Start with the simple questions—‘What do you like to do online?’ or ‘Tell me about your favorite apps.’
We’ve learned to ensure our kids feel safe coming to us—that they won’t get in trouble for sharing. It’s in that quiet exchange—when they’re telling us about their latest game—that we build the digital village together.
That trust? It’s the superpower we give our kids—the digital armor that’ll protect them long after they’ve outgrown our parental controls! The strongest fence isn’t made of filters—it’s woven from the trust that comes when they’re comfortable sharing.
Source: Mike Milinkovich: Businesses built on open infrastructure have a responsibility to sustain it, Eclipse Foundation Blog, 2025-09-23