Responding to the Challenges and Opportunities of Digital Age Parenting, the Department of IKK IPB University Holds Family Talk Series Webinar
The Department of Family and Consumer Sciences (IKK), Faculty of Human Ecology (Fema) IPB University held a series of Family Talk Series (FTS) activities to commemorate National Family Day (Harganas).
The first Family Talk Series was held in the form of a webinar with the theme “Optimising Child Development in the Digital Age”. This event aimed to provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of how parenting is applied with the opportunities and challenges that are present in the digital era.
The event presented three speakers, namely Dr Irma Ardiana (Director of Family Development for Toddlers and Children BKKBN R)I; Nur Islamiah, PhD (Psychologist, Lecturer in Family and Consumer Sciences at IPB University) and Firesta Farizal (Owner of Mentari Anakku Clinic and Therapy Centre). The diverse backgrounds of the speakers provided a comprehensive presentation on parenting and child development in the digital era from the perspectives of academics, practitioners and government institutions.
Dr Irma Ardiana, explained that government institutions have a responsibility to the care and development of children in the digital era. “The government provides regulations in the form of laws and government regulations to protect parents and children from the negative impact of digital crime,” she explained.
“The government also provides direct assistance to parents to implement appropriate parenting through the Family Assistance Team, Toddler Family Development Cadres, Family Planning Instructors who are already spread in every village,” she explained.
Meanwhile, Nur Islamiah, said that digital media has positive and negative impacts on all aspects of child development. “Digital media facilitates communication, access to information and knowledge, and increases creativity. However, digital media also has a negative impact, especially if given without supervision and limits,” she said.
“Excessive use of digital media can cause physical problems such as vision problems, obesity and delayed motor development. The use of digital media also causes cognitive impairment, speech delays, and social emotional disorders such as tantrums,” said Nur Islamiah.
Another speaker, Firesta Farizal, said there are five strategies that parents can apply in parenting in the digital era. “First, become a parent who applies digital parenting. Second, be responsible and provide assistance. Third, set limits and rules regarding the duration of use and content accessed,” said Firesta.
Fourth, she continued, parents must realise that children’s activities are not only in the digital world, children also have physical needs and interact with other people. “Fifth, parents and children need to build attachment using strategies in digital era parenting, without attachment, these strategies cannot be applied,” she said. (*/Lp) (IAAS/RUM)
