I hear a lot of people say that parenting is harder today than it was for our parents. Maybe that’s true. At the very least, it feels more complex. Our parents only had to worry about the dangers we’d face in the real world. Although as a Gen Xer, I feel like our parents didn’t worry that much. They just sent us outside until the streetlights came on. In parenting today, we need to be concerned about the real world and the online world.

We seem to have the real world covered. In fact, we’re probably a little overprotective there. It’s in preparing our kids for the online world that I think we fall short. We need to ask ourselves, “How can I be a good digital parent?” We set up protective controls and software, believing our kids to be safe. However, our kids’ curiosity often takes over, and they bypass our safeguards in two seconds and without our knowledge. A better way to protect our kids is to prepare them for the images, agendas, and content that will confront them online. To do this, there’s a conversation I think all parents need to have with their kids. It involves asking these 3 questions.

1. “What type of person do you want to become?”

This is important to finding out their vision of who they want to be. Do they want to be a person of character and integrity? Theologian Dallas Willard said that we all are becoming a certain type of person. It’s not a question of if you’re becoming someone—it’s a question of who you are becoming. Once you know who your kid wants to become, then ask the next question.

2. “What do you think determines who you become?”

The things you pour into your heart and mind determine who you become. The things we decide to look at, listen to, and love are the things that will consume our thoughts. As Jesus talked about in his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:23), “the eyes are a lamp into the body.” Our thoughts are formed and nurtured by what we look at, listen to, and love. And our thoughts will form our attitudes and beliefs, ultimately impacting our behavior. That’s probably why the Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

3. “How do you think your thoughts affect your behavior?”

When our thoughts are focused on what is right and good, it helps form a strong character attuned to wisdom, love, and goodness. However, when we decide to consume content that is dehumanizing, hate-filled, and perverse, it forms us in the opposite direction. We become more callous, disconnected, and lacking in empathy. Sadly, it happens so slowly and incrementally that we don’t notice until there is significant damage done.

So, not only should we ask our kids these questions, we need to ask ourselves, “What do I spend my time looking at? What do I seek out more than anything? Who or what do I listen to?” More than anything, we need to model for our kids what it looks like to fill our hearts and our minds with the right things.

Sound off: What advice would you give to someone who asks, “How can I be a good digital parent?”

Source: All Pro Dad here