Technology and Parenting styles

I saw this headline today in NPR news and froze - "A must for millions, Zoom has a dark side and an FBI warning".

At home these days, I have my husband and elder daughter using zoom for meetings. My husband can take care of himself but I worry about my little one and her friends!
I have already been secretly monitoring her Zoom morning meetings daily this week for several reasons. One, I needed to hear from her teacher as well on everyday summary of lessons and feedback, so I know how things are going and if my daughter is coping. Second, this is still new for my daughter and I wanted to be around if she needed any help.
I realized today that I need not worry about my second reason, as she was handling the technical aspect like a pro. I chided myself for becoming one of those parents and the term 'helicopter parenting' came to mind. I told myself that I should probably not be as involved from tomorrow and let her have more privacy and then I see this in the news :(

Well, back to square one. Her safety is more important than her privacy. Zoom has promised to work more on security measures and I will continue to work on such measures from my end too!

These thoughts led me to do more research on parenting styles. Apparently the old Baumrind styles are of four types and I think I fall under the authoritative style. Do read up more; I do believe knowing our style helps us to understand the pros and cons and improve on areas where we could. Parenting is daunting at the best of times and the dilemmas parents have to face daily may not be understood by 'non-parent' adult friends! Do we protect our darlings from all the ugly things in the world or do we let them learn the hard way sometimes, so they become smarter?

One source I really liked to learn about the styles of parenting:
https://www.brighthorizons.com/family-resources/parenting-style-four-types-of-parenting 

Another good site if you think you might be a bit more involved than necessary sometimes:
https://afineparent.com/be-positive/helicopter-parent.html

More to learn and reflect everyday :)

Hello again my blog and readers

I have missed writing. Yes. But life got in the way and I did not make writing a priority! I was thinking of starting a new blog, but then saw that I still had readers for my old posts! So, I plan on starting to write again in this same blog. If anyone is still following me, thank you!

I hope everyone is surviving this COVID-19 safely. For me, this has been a great experience. A time to reflect, to spend with kids, learn how to survive with my spouse and enjoy the small things. Worked with a friend to rehome five pups! Been cooking more. Of course I know we are lucky if we can consider this a good time. Praying for the many people who are in the frontline of this and others who may have to plan their everyday lives with great difficulty in these circumstances. However, we will survive this.

While we figure it out, please do keep an eye open for abused kids who might be stuck at home, animals, especially starving strays etc., and try to help when you can. Please do not ignore if you find you can help. Sending love and positive thoughts to the Universe!