Parenting for the Digital Generation: A Guide to Digital Education and the Online Environment

Review\n'Unconditional love, support, structure, and stability' aren’t the focus of the digital era, suggests law professor Garon in this savvy, nuanced take on parenting an online generation. To help parents harness the power of the web as part of a healthy environment for children, the author focuses on the need for 21st-century 'information literacy, digital literacy, privacy literacy, and cultural competency' for both kids and adults. He covers concerns with seriousness but never fearmongering, touching on online connections (a great potential way for children, particularly LGBTQ kids, to find supportive communities), pornography (child pornography is prosecutable even when the material is created by teens and only shared with peers), and the potential for political radicalization or the possibility that an adolescent could become a malicious hacker. He outlines security and privacy practices and offers e-commerce safety tips, and his legal background comes through in concise explanations of online privacy protections and educational accessibility law.... Parents skeptical about the web would do well to pick this up. ― Publishers Weekly\nAt Last! The guidelines parents and teachers having been waiting for. And, it’s all in one organized, straightforward, book. Technology can be such a large, difficult expanse of terms and capabilities that change rapidly. Jon Garon’s book, Parenting for the Digital Generation will give both parents and teachers the information needed to confidently provide support and instruction for any child’s education.
-- Kimberly Durham, PsyD, Dean of the Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice, Nova Southeastern University\nAn impressive compendium of the latest evidence on how to think about the use of technology with children! Given the fast-moving nature of technology, the book also presents some strong principles to help parents think about how to continue to get the vast benefits from technology while limiting the downsides.
-- Michael B. Horn, author, "From Reopen to Reinvent"\nAs a child psychologist and a mom, I know most parents have concerns about how to parent in this quickly-changing, fast-paced, digital world. This book provides families with a strong knowledge base for understanding the basics of the digital world, offers examples of the benefits of technology, discusses the concerns, and provides an understandable framework for determining how to maintain balance within the family. The easy-to-read charts that describe developmental stages in relation to media use will become a favorite resource page as I continue to support families in their goals of finding the strengths in the digital world that will help foster their children’s development while maintaining age-appropriate and realistic limits. This book is a must read for all parents.
-- Sandra Sondell, PhD, Psychology Consultation Specialists\nParenting for the Digital Generation should be required reading for every parent, educator, and young adult. This comprehensive manual is one of the best organized guides in print today. Mr. Garon provides concrete instructions and recommendations for parents and anyone who wants to maintain a balanced digital life. The legal and ethical standards provided are timely and relevant as our society continues to be more reliant on all forms of technology.
-- William J. Kopas, EdD, Head of School, NSU University School\nI am thrilled to see a publication of a practical, encyclopedia-like, easy to read, follow and understand guide/handbook for all. It is a most needed guide for parents, teachers, and counselors, especially during this digital informational age. The Parenting for the Digital Generation is comprehensive and packed with one-stop shopping resources for all stakeholders. The book's unique features are the solutions provided for parents struggling to keep their children safe, happy, and engaging before the internet and during the upsurge of digital usage.