Parenting and the digital age. Ugh.

No one ever said regular parenting was easy.

These days, the task of nurturing our young is significantly enhanced. So much so that it can knock the proverbial wind out of your sails.

Our kids are growing up faster. Navigating their tech-savvy, social network-dominated existence is almost like watching an alien soap opera.

Sure, we grew up with the first instances of the information age, but it didn’t command and define our personalities and demeanor.

There is so much more exposure to a variety of electronic elements. The language, the tone, the intent – it all hinges on the momentary impulse that emanates from their finger tips, like electricity pulsing through a circuit.

What we say matters. How we say it, even more so. And as always,
our audience plays the biggest role.

Its easy to forget that this reality is common place for our kids.

That the new paradigm is not new. Their ability to bob and weave the jabs and uppercuts thrown by their digital peers is as much a survival technique as making fire or reading the sun.

But sometimes, they misstep. They fumble. They make mistakes.

And it is still our job to catch them. To help them help themselves, and to point out the lesson they need to learn.

We are all only human.

Winds of change will blow. Other sails will unfurl. And our kids will be challenged as parents, in ways we can’t even conceive.

The only difference is they are the first generation where everyone else is listening.

Let’s teach them to craft their voice with care, thoughtfulness and compassion. They are our legacy; our lasting imprint on the genetic memory of our species.