But wait, you may think, my kid now has a laptop that’s
better than my own! That may be completely
appropriate, given the level of multitasking that comes
naturally to kids. Streaming a video, having a
conversation, working on homework—when all this
happens at once, an old laptop may just not make the
grade. Check with the local school district to make sure
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your kid isn’t using the accepted device, advice from the
teacher may be confusing. Right-click? How do you do
that on a Mac?
One more thing: Older kids in particular may be up late
working on homework or having fun. Blue light can
disturb the sleep cycle, so keep an eye out for monitors
with reduced blue light levels, and take advantage of the
time-based blue-light-reduction settings built into
Windows and other platforms. And check out a pair of
blue-light-blocking glasses.
- TURN IT ALL OFF
Just because your kids are perfectly at home online
doesn’t mean they (or you) should always be connected.
Consider setting aside regular time for family activities
to which connected devices aren’t invited. Just what
that means will depend on what your family enjoys.
You might choose a family game night or a campout in
the backyard.
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the dark, and tell the kids scary stories. Stories about
how you grew up with a dial-up connection—or no
internet at all. Yikes!
Blue light can
disturb the
sleep cycle, so
keep an eye out
for monitors
with reduced
blue light
levels.PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION (^) I SUBSCRIBE (^) I SEPTEMBER 2020