iRules: What every tech-healthy family needs to know about selfies, sexting, gaming and growing up. I don’t have any kids but I am always curious about these books and how they are warning kids about technology. And to be honest, a lot of these rules should be given to some over-sharing adults as well. Part1 of the book focuses on RESPECT. Awareness and Action as well as The Golden Rule are the chapters. Part 2 is about RESPONSIBILITY Manners Matter, Work!, Sex and Technology are what it focuses on and Part 3 is all about LIVE FULLY – Be Present, Technology is Fun and Eyes Up and Heart Open. There is also a workbook, glossary, popular social netweoking sites and popular abbreviations for online communication.
The book starts with a contract given to the authors oldest son, Gregory, when he got his first iPhone. While I love this idea – it makes me crazy that 13 year old kids have smartphones! I got my first cell phone when I graduated high school and smart phones didn’t exist. Maybe I’m just jealous and old fashioned but I don’t see why kids need fancy phones like that when they are so young. A simple one should due. (Although I do know that these are becoming harder and harder to find.)
Otherwise – if I get over this issue that I have, I think that the book makes some great points about using respect and being responsible. This should go for everything – not just technology usage. If you have young kids who are starting to or already have been using technology, this book will probably have some techniques for you to think about when allowing your children to use these devices. I like the authors use of contracts with the children and she seems to have an open relationship with her kids and tries to talk to them about things and being respectful and getting them to think about technology from all aspects – how it will affect them, their friends, their family and their friends families, etc.
I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.
About the Book
As Janell Burley Hofmann, mother of five, wrapped her 13-year-old’s iPhone on Christmas Eve, she was overwhelmed by questions: “Will my children learn to sit and wonder without Googling? Should I know their passwords for online accounts? Will they experience the value of personal connection without technology?”
To address her concerns, she outlined boundaries and expectations in a contract for her son to sign upon receiving his first cell phone. When Hofmann’s editor at The Huffington Postposted the contract, now known as iRules, it resonated on a massive scale and went viral, resulting in a tsunami of media coverage and requests. It quickly became apparent that people across the country were hungry for more.
In iRules, Hofmann provides families with the tools they need to find a balance between technology and human interaction through a philosophy she calls Slow Tech Parenting. In the book, she educates parents about the online culture tweens and teens enter the minute they go online, exploring issues like cyberbullying, friend fail, and sexting, as well as helping parents create their own iRules contracts to fit their families’ needs. As funny and readable as it is prescriptive, iRules will help parents figure out when to unplug and how to stay in sync with the changing world of technology, while teaching their children self-respect, integrity, and responsibility.