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Home > Portable Practical Pediatrics > Doc Smo’s 2018 Holiday Message (Pedcast)
Podcast: Portable Practical Pediatrics
Episode:

Doc Smo’s 2018 Holiday Message (Pedcast)
Category: Kids & family
Duration: 00:00:00
Publish Date: 2018-12-01 19:20:32
Description: Introduction I was asking myself the other day, while I was wondering whether or not to open the fifth suspicious email of the day, what effect will all the deception and trickery in today's digital world have on children growing up today? Will they be able to grow up psychologically healthy with so many evil people around trying to take advantage of them? Will risks posed by the digital world damage their ability to trust others? I concluded that the answer to that question is "no", if they have a strong trusting relationship with their families when they are growing up.   A foundation of trust so to speak. So for my 2018 holiday message, I thought it might be helpful to present some ideas that I hope you can use to strengthen the trust and bond between you and your children. Musical Intro The Importance of Trust As I like to say to parents, "if you can't trust your parents, who can you trust"? That's my way of saying that the relationship your child establishes with you, their parents, is the basis of your child's entire future. For a child, having a loving secure relationship with their parents, the people who are most responsible for them and are totally committed to their well-being, is hopefully something that your child can experience. It's a child's most precious asset. But as the world changes from 100% real to a more virtual and complex one, children, maybe even your children, are bound to feel the effects of the uncertainty around them. What your Kids are Up Against in the Digital Age   To better explain to you what I mean, let's take a quick look into the future for your children, shall we? Your children are undoubtedly going to live in a super connected world. They are already. That connectivity will have great benefits for them but also poses great risks at the same time. First take a look at some of the positives: When your children are grown. --It is likely that they will travel in self-driving cars, connected to the Internet that will guide them seamlessly and efficiently to their destinations. --It is likely that they will take virtual vacations that will allow them to experience much of the world while never leaving their homes. --It is likely that they will own household help that is provided by robots that never tire, never complain, and are commanded by digital household assistants. --It is likely that will have access to instant information about everything, making it much easier for them to solve problems and make smart life decisions. --And finally, it is also likely that they will have their workplace in a location remote from the people who hired them, giving your children the freedom to live where they choose rather than a being forced to live within close proximity to their bosses. But they are also likely to experience the negative impacts of a connected world: --It is possible that people stealing their identity will financially harm them. --It is possible that they will have their email accounts hacked and used by others for their own purposes. --It is possible that they will mistakenly log onto fake websites that look identical to the real one causing them great harm. --It is possible that they will be preyed upon by companies that collect and sell their personal information and use it to target them for the company’s own financial gain. --It is possible that they will be cyber-bullied or unjustly defamed by others. --And finally, it is possible that they will be lured in into relationships with strangers on the internet or that they will wander into sites that peddle pornography or other malicious content.   Practical Advise to Increase Trust with Your Children As you can see, it is becoming increasingly difficult for parents to protect their children from being harmed by strangers now that we are so connected by billions of computers. I fear that the uncertainty and negativity that your children may be encountering today will damage their a...
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