Parent to Parent: Kids not being content on social media
HOUSTON - Kids are not content, according to many parenting and trauma experts, who say it is dangerous and can have lasting traumatic impacts on your kids you might not even realize.
One recent viral challenge is a prime example.
"I know it seems like this is a silly gag. But it really does have the potential to send that message to a young developing nervous system that, oh wow, if I can’t trust these people, then who can we trust," said Jamie McCoy, who is a trauma trained therapist and says often trauma stems from those younger ages.
Kids in videos can be seen reacting confused or breaking down in tears.
"I say that most children are going to do whatever it takes to please their caregivers anyway. Even if they don’t fully understand what is going on, they go along to get along. It might be nervous laughing and that is how they go by, and they learn that humiliation is a form of playfulness, and this is how we play together," she said.
Titania Jordan is a parent and wrote a book on parenting in the digital age. She posted her frustration on the book’s Facebook page.
"[I wrote} please don’t do this, please don’t film it, and please don’t post it because children are not content. In less than an hour, I had more than 500 comments from parents. There are a lot of opinions about this challenge and not all of them agree with me, which was surprising," said Jordan. "They are not old enough to understand what it means to have embarrassing content about them online. Any of their friends, once they hit middle school, can grab that and turn it into a meme, and cause bullying, an embarrassment. There’s really no good reason to put your kids online without their consent."