Facebook and my kids

Hi Latinos in College,
First, let me congratulate you for such a great new website. I've been a fan since the beginning but now it looks better. I have a question and want to know if you can help me. My two teenage children (daughter 14 and son 15) spend a lot of time on Facebook. They do their homework but not much more. They are not very involved with the community or in after school activities. They are not interested in sports or other physical activities. I'm worried how this will impact their school choice and scholarship opportunities. I see this happening in many of my friends' families as well. What do you think would be a good way to motivate them to get away from Facebook?
Thank you very much,
Joan

Hi Joan,

Facebook is a great social network. The problem is when students start spending more time on Facebook than on their academics and extracurricular activities. Have you talked to your kids about this? I am sure your children have other interests, it's just a matter of moving away from the computer and Facebook and developing their interests through clubs, sports, or volunteering. It may help to let them know your concern. Talk to them and ask them what their interests are. Maybe you can all agree on them taking on an activity and also designating "Facebook" hours during the afternoon that they should stick to? You are right to be concerned because colleges look at student's extracurricular activities and it's important that your children understand that.

I hope these suggestions help. Please feel free to message us again.

Are there any other parents that have or have had to deal with a problem such as this? If so, how did you confront it?

- Jazmin

In addition to Jazmin's great suggestions, I would add that you may want to move all electronics to a common area where you can supervise their use. So, ask your kids to leave their cell phones and computers out of their rooms at night and make it a rule that they can only be used in the common area at specific hours of the day.
Often times, this small act changes their behavior.
Saludos,
Mariela Dabbah

I'm glad Joan brought up this issue. It's so prevalent that I don't know any parent who's not faced by it. My kids don't seem to be interested in anything other than spending screen time. Not sure what to do any more. I'll try moving the computer into a common area but I already know it will be a fight. They are 12 and 16 and they think I'm invading their privacy. The truth is that colleges have not changed the way they look at a student's resume to adjust to the online generation. I'd appreciate any other suggestions anyone can share to motivate kids to step out of their online social networks.