It is important to validate your child’s emotions while also maintaining clear and consistent boundaries at this age. Nagging and idle threats by parents are ineffective. Establish fair, understandable rules around chores, screen time, homework, and bedtime, and follow through with a stated consequence when rules are broken. The positive effects of praise are often more powerful behavior modifiers than negative reinforcement (such comments as “I really like it when you let your friends play with your toys” or “thank you for waiting quietly while your father and I talked”). Maintain active communication with your child. An interest in your child’s daily activities promotes a sense of accomplishment and self-esteem. Hug and praise your child.

Helping your kids make good decisions is more important than trying to protect them from everything. Good mentors engage with their kids about technology by actually playing games with them and talking about responsible internet and video game use. From the start, tell your children that you will be monitoring them. You may use tracking software on the internet to keep track of sites they have visited. This approach lets them know that you trust them, but you will be watching. You can also install a filter to block offensive websites. Be aware, however, that many children are smart enough to find ways around the filters.