Parental Engagement in the Digital Age: Staying Connected Without Overstepping
posted on Feb 04, 2025
urukul The School, a well-known and reliable top schools in Ghaziabad, would once again want to repeat that "complete elimination" can never be a solution with regard to digital exposure
Digital Development is soaring really high in 2025 and is only expected to grow in scale and reach in the days to come. However, just like development of any kind comes with a fixed set of pros and cons, so do digital developments.
If you are keeping up with the latest news in the industry, you must be well aware of the nationwide uproar on the comments made by popular YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia on Stand-up Comedian Samay Raina’s show India's Got Latent.
The last thing you as parents and we as educators would want is for our children to be exposed to crass digital content just like the one above. But does this mean digital exposure should be eliminated for children? Well, we at Gurukul The School, a reputed best school in Ghaziabad, firmly believe there’s definitely no need to put a complete stop to your children’s digital exposure! Instead, all it takes is to prioritize parental engagement so that children can keep up with the demands of the digital age without crossing boundaries.
What is Parental Engagement?
Before we discover the need and importance of parental engagement, let us first see what this concept really entails.
Well, parental engagement has to do with how parents interact, support, and guide their children as they step into the digital world, curious to learn, experiment, and explore.
Here are some digital agendas that parents must look at without fail:
- School’s Digital Communication Channels:
It is important to authenticate that your child's digital appetite is on-point, which is where emails sent by the school, the school's app, and official online channels can bring clarity.
The post-pandemic era has been extensively about using educational apps and digital learning platforms, which is where digital safety and awareness should be introduced by explaining to children:
- The online risks
- Cyberbullying
- Privacy and Security Measures
- Responsible Internet Use
It is important to develop online etiquette as far as digital exposure is concerned, which is where it helps for parents to work on striking a balance between children's online and offline activities.
Reasons Why Parental Engagement is Important:
- Responsible Navigation in the Digital World:
A key pro cum con of digital exposure is access to a wide canvas of information, not all of which is appropriate and relevant.
At Gurukul The School, we have always reminded our students of the importance of selective digital consumption, something parental engagement backs by providing a framework of the dos and don’ts for children in the digital world. This makes responsible digital navigation possible.
- Positive Online Interactions:
The most unfortunate part about digital developments and interactions is the pool of trolls who hide behind facades to create unpleasant online interactions.
These interactions, if not avoided or gone unnoticed, can bring children's morale down and, in serious cases, lead to mental health problems like depression and suicidal thoughts. This is where parental engagement becomes pivotal in teaching children the importance of respectful digital communication, online mannerisms, and, of course, the impact of their digital footprints.
- Academic and Professional Growth:
At Gurukul The School, we have had plenty of conversations with parents who have expressed concerns over children's digital exposure. Some have even questioned if it would be helpful to cut out on digital exposure altogether.
This is where we recommend finding a middle ground by allowing children selective exposure to digital learning platforms that can fuel their academic and professional progress. Simultaneously, it helps to sow the seeds of parental engagement to prevent children from crossing the line online.
- Cushion Against Inappropriate Digital Content:
It has become very easy for fraudulent and inappropriate websites, apps, and media to find their way into their counterparts that usually float age-appropriate content. Children tend to use websites and apps that are otherwise deemed appropriate and safe.
However, in the absence of parental engagement, children can be led out of the appropriate website to consume content on inappropriate sites, making parental presence and overview a must for children's online safety and security.
In short, it is crucial to view parental engagement in a good light so that digital exposure can continue to remain a healthy and happy experience for all the children out there.
Digital Connect is Important, But Always Without Crossing Boundaries:
We at Gurukul The School, a well-known and reliable top schools in Ghaziabad, would once again want to repeat that "complete elimination" can never be a solution with regard to digital exposure, as this is what would eventually go on to define how children shape their futures and bag opportunities that come their way. What makes us say so is the very fact that without digital unison, there is neither a future nor any substantial growth for children.
Hence, the ideal way out is to allow parental intervention and engagement so that parents can be at ease with their children's exposure to the digital world and children can be safe in terms of what they consume and the impact this consumption has on them.
We will conclude by saying that digital connections are important, but always without overstepping.