Obey + Ask: A Safety System Every Child Needs Online 🚨
#ParentingInsight #StrategySaturday
TL;DR: Want to help your children stay safe online? Teach them to obey family tech rules and ask for help when things feel off. It’s not just smart. It’s biblical.
"Children, obey your parents the way the Lord wants, because this is the right thing to do." – Ephesians 6:1 (ERV)
Obedience isn't just about authority. It's about alignment. When children obey family tech rules, they align with wisdom that protects them. And when they learn to ask for help when something feels off online, they’re not just being cautious—they’re building courage and connection.
Obedience + Asking = A God-designed system for safety.
This Week’s Highlights
We continued our digital discipleship journey with this week’s tech wisdom principle:
Follow your family’s tech rules.
Here’s what that looked like:
We reviewed and updated our 1-page Family Tech Agreement and Family Online Safety Plan, talking through why the rules exist. Spoiler alert: It’s not to ruin their fun. It’s to protect their hearts and minds.
We anchored obedience to both God’s wisdom and parental guidance, helping our children connect safety with love and trust.
We played some great online games that made learning about safety fun:
TAG: Teaches children to Tell A Grownup when something feels wrong online.
Band Runner: Helps older children think through safe tech use in interactive scenarios.
Mindful Mountain: Encourages wise sharing and self-awareness online.
Storytime Stack
We kicked off sessions with bite-sized reads like:
My Online Neighborhood by Common Sense Media: Explores how the internet has great and risky places.
But I Read It on the Internet! by Toni Buzzeo: A fun reminder to think critically and verify online info.
Webster’s Friend by Hannah Whaley: Shows the risks of online friendships and importance of caution.
Webster’s Manners by Hannah Whaley: Introduces simple, sensible tech-use rules for young users.
Screentime is Not Forever by Elizabeth Verdick: Helps children manage screen time with calm.
When Charlie McButton Lost Power by Suzanne Collins: A humorous story on screen obsession and real-life play.
We also watched the fantastic Play, Like, Share mini-series—a great tool for discussing both digital delights and dangers with your older children.
Checklist: Helping Your Child Obey + Ask
☐ Review your family tech agreement together
☐ Teach the TAG rule (Tell A Grownup)
☐ Role-play “what would you do if…” scenarios
☐ Make obedience a dialogue, not a dictatorship
☐ Reinforce asking for help as wise, not weak
Action Step
Set aside 20 minutes this week to do one activity and one conversation:
Play a safety game together, then talk about one rule in your family tech agreement and why it exists.
Ask: “When would you need to come to me for help online?” You might be surprised by what they say.
Raising wise and respectful digital citizens doesn’t happen by accident; it takes guidance, grace, and discipline. So let’s not just set rules. Let’s equip our children to Obey + Ask.