Case study: Marilyn
Chit chatting in the car
Marilyn lives in Kent with her husband, mother and two daughters aged two and ten. As a therapist, she feels it’s important for children to have boundaries because she’s mindful of the impact young age experiences can have.
Her eldest is full of personality and loves to dance and act – she wants to be a superstar! Naturally, she see’s other kids online and wants to do the same, setting up a video page and social media accounts. As a vibrant, excited 10 year old, she found it hard to understand initially when mum and dad limited her internet access but as a family, they’ve found their own “line” – whether that’s discussing and talking through imposing down time on her iPad, apps with time limits, selectively choosing who is in her contacts and age limits on streaming accounts.
She can still have access to Mum’s phone, but on Mum’s terms – especially as she’s super clever at finding a workaround, like shopping via map apps!
A natural catastrophiser, Marilyn likes to err on the side of caution but doesn’t want to shield the kids. She and her husband are very proactive in talking to their eldest, especially after recent safety issues at school.
“Our eldest is desperate to get online, but she needs to trust that we know best at the moment – we don’t feel she’s quite old enough to understand.
"Instead of a big lecture, I prefer to weave lessons into general chit chat in the car on the way back from dance class – the number of which we’ve increased instead of allowing of social profiles to help her achieve that superstar status!”
