As a mother, the most important job to me is raising my children. I believe it is far more difficult today to raise good, kind human beings because of what they are exposed to and the state of the world. You can’t control it all, but as a parent, I will control what I can and my kids have no choice on certain decisions.
In today’s world, if your child is on social media, you never know what they will see, and it’s not just what they see, but that they aren’t ready for it. I personally have a better day if I stay off my personal social media. It’s so easy to compare, feel less happy with what you have, get distracted by things that don’t involve you, and be drained by other people’s drama. It affects the peace I strive so hard to maintain.
I try to use social media intentionally. The people I follow through my blog are great resources, where I can ask milk cow questions, find fresh-milled bread recipes, or see how someone solved a soaping issue. It’s encouragement, successes, and admitted failures by other homesteaders, a place to learn and share. My personal social media still contains some of the same, along with happy and sad news from locals that I truly like to know, school updates, community goings-on, etc. Without it, I wouldn’t be much up to date locally because I’m content at home in my own world.
Unfortunately, social media is also full of arguments, negativity, and judgment. People are bolder online than in person, and many things don’t belong on social media, but that doesn’t stop anyone from posting them. That is why my kids are not on certain platforms, or on social media at all. I told them about the recent heartbreaking assassination, but I don’t need them to see a video of it. They can text or call their friends, they don’t have to “follow” anyone and see only small, beautifully filtered snippets of their lives. They don’t need to be subjected to negativity or content they wouldn’t normally encounter offline.
Most importantly, I need my kids to know how to be happy with their own lives, appreciate what they have, focus on life in person, maintain friendships in person, be present with family and friends, and form their own opinions. I need them to be involved in life and not distracted by addictive scrolling. Raising them with limited screen time, not using technology as a babysitter, and setting the example of living our own lives has resulted in my kids not even caring about social media or feeling the desire to be glued to a screen. They don’t need positive feedback for everything, they are happy with their own satisfaction.
If my kids ever do have a strong interest in social media, I am the parent. I can and will say no if necessary, and that is that. My children will not be entitled to be on something just because they want to be or because everyone else has it. There will be a good reason for being on social media when the time comes for each of them. Maybe it will be for creative inspiration, how-tos, antique tractor pages, bunny resources, or to sell items. My oldest has Instagram, it’s full of ideas and inspiration, and she uses it wisely. But the second it affects her life for the worse, it’s gone. I am here to parent my children and raise them into thoughtful, kind, wise, helpful, humble, skilled, and productive individuals with family values in a heavy world.
Find us on Facebook: Vintage at Heart Homestead
