• Steve Jobs, the late CEO of Apple, limited his children’s use of technology.
• Bill Gates did not allow his children to have a cell phone until they were 14 and forbade cell-phone use at the dinner table.
• Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel limited the amount of time his children used technology.

We could say these giants of technology are privy to information we don’t have. But now we have no excuse. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently released guidelines for screen time for children under 5 years old. The guidelines include no screen time for infants under 1 year old and no more than 1 hour a day for 2 to 4 year olds. WHO also announced that limiting and even eliminating screen time for children under 5 years old will result in healthier adults.

These recommendations are not limited to the World Health Organization. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends similar restrictions. The Academy also recommends eliminating screen time within an hour of children’s bedtime.

As if all that is not enough, we also have to worry about apps that danger into our homes and families. Teens have access to dating apps and most of them have safety features such as minimum age requirements. But what the world thinks is appropriate and what Christian parents think is appropriate can be worlds apart.

For example, Yubo (formerly Yellow), is billed as an app for making new friends. But Seventeen magazine included it in an article earlier this year titled “7 Bests Dating Apps for Teens.” This, even though the minimum age for using the app is twelve years old! So parental vigilance is necessary for children from birth all the way through the teen years.

But there’s a catch to all these recommendations. Are the adults in our children’s lives preaching a message of “do as I say, not as I do”? Are we on our screens up to the minute we go to bed? Do we keep our phones with us at the dinner table? Do we view sites that we justify as okay for adults but inappropriate for children? I wonder…is our standard based on our own desires or on biblical principles. I’ve often found that if it’s not appropriate for a child, it’s probably not God’s best for me, either, as a child of God.

And even more importantly, will you allow me to take this discussion beyond technology? What about the other lessons we’re modelling for the children in our lives? Are we modelling a lifestyle of “do as I say, not as I do” in other areas? In our integrity? Our self-discipline? How about our relationships? Eating habits?

Children can spot hypocrisy a mile away. Let’s live transparently in the way we handle our technology…and in every area of our character.

In what areas is God calling you to live with greater transparency with your children?