Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

When it comes to the Internet, how much is too much? Should you limit the time that you and your kids spend online? This week on Home School Heartbeat, Zan Tyler and Mike Smith have been discussing using the Internet to enhance your homeschool program. Today, they share tips for making sure that the time you and your kids spend online is efficient and profitable.

Mike Smith:
There are children that would spend all day long on the Internet. What do you do about that?


Zan Tyler:
I do think as parents with the Internet you can have control and have the upper hand. You do need to set parameters, you need to set time limits, and you need to enforce those time limits, and there need to be consequences when those time limits are not obeyed. In terms of email and high school students particularly, I would say that I think there's great benefit in that. My children in high school have not always had close Christian homeschooled high school friends in the vicinity. And once email hit, they could fellowship with their friends that they met at national homeschooling conferences or TeenPact or in whatever setting all over the world, and so it gave them this sense of not being alone, not being the lone ranger. As long as their responsibilities were met, I gave them the freedom at that point in their lives when they were 16 to fellowship with their friends freely via the Internet. I think there again it depends on the child—his level of responsibility and his level of obedience.


Mike:
Well, thanks, Zan. And until next time, I'm Mike Smith.