TORONTO — One way to be a good parent in the digital age is to communicate with your children about what’s happening online, says a renowned author, social worker and family therapist.

To do this, Joe Rich advised parents to “Go online… Become a user.”

Rich was speaking Oct. 16 at the North York Civic Centre to some 100 parents at an evening exploring technology called “From Preschooler to Screen-ager.”

The evening was hosted by the Ontario Council of Jewish Camps (OCJC), an umbrella body comprising 10 Jewish overnight camps and one day camp. The OCJC is supported by UJA Federation of Greater Toronto’s Silber Family Centre for Jewish Camping.

Rich offered strategies to eager parents hoping to learn about today’s quickly changing technological world.

“We are never aiming for perfect – we’re only aiming for better,” Rich said. “Perfect is a moving target. Let go of perfect. As soon as you move forward into better, you actually solicit the feelings of better and you need to feel good to parent in today’s world.”

He provided figures about Facebook to put the social media site in perspective for parents.

“Somewhere between 500 million and one billion people have Facebook, and over half of them log in every single day. There are one million active advertisers – individuals or corporations – who have placed an ad on Facebook in at least the last 28 days; 7.5 million children under the age of 13 [which is against Facebook policy] have a Facebook account; 7.4 million of their parents don’t know. Five million children under the age of 10 have their own Facebook account. In 2011 600,000 accounts were compromised per day,” he said.

“This wakes us up. Things are moving very quickly for all of us.”

Another strategy to teach is self-regulation. Noting that the usual mentality among teens using social media is, “In my mind, on my tongue, send,” Rich advised parents to have their children write a text, count to 10, read the text and decide if they still want to send it.

Rich also cautioned parents about privacy issues with social media.

“It is important for each parent to have his child sign a waiver that releases the child from any expectations of privacy. Kids don’t like to hear that, but they need to hear it.”

Rich also advised parents to try to create a tech-free zone in their homes and limit screen time, including TV.

“Kids on the computer are playing with an unlocked door – something to think about for their safety and our own,” Rich said.

The OCJC’s participating camps are URJ Camp George, Camp Gesher, Camp Kadimah, Camp Moshava, Camp Northland – B’nai Brith, Camp Ramah, Camp Shalom, Camp Shomria, Camp Solelim, J.Academy and the Jack and Pat Kay Centre Camp. Each camp had a table at the event, offering parents the opportunity to learn more about them.

Bryan Keshen, vice-president of emerging communities and Jewish camping at UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, told The CJN that camp offers kids a break from technology.

“In today’s world, where even our children are constantly connected…overnight camp is the rare time when connective technology is turned off, shut down, or left behind and campers can immerse themselves in the connectivity of friendships,” Keshen said.

Visit www.ilovejewishcamp.ca for more information.