Most teens are on their electronic devices more than ever right now for several reasons. Boredom is one of them for sure! In addition to boredom, they are on them for schoolwork and as a means of staying connected to others. As a parent, how do you set limits or manage your teen’s screen time during quarantine when it has gone on this long?

I don’t think there is a one size fits all answer for this, however, here are some guidelines that may help.

• Monitor what they are doing. It is still important for parents to monitor screen time for their teens. With younger teens, there should be close monitoring so that you can continue to educate them about the risks associated with social media and make sure they are not putting themselves into situations they will later regret. For older teens, check in with them and insist that you have their password at all time. As their parent, you have a right to their password so that you can check what they are doing as you feel is necessary.
• Help...

If I asked this question before the days of smart devices, email and social media your answer would likely be “absolutely not”. You would be able to screen any calls coming into your home and protect your child from bullying, however, this is not the case today.

Unfortunately, it is much harder for teens to escape bullying unless they choose to unplug completely and what teen is going to do that? Cyberbullying can be persistent, either with non-stop harassing text messaging or with frequent hurtful, threatening or humiliating social media posts. For a teenager experiencing cyberbullying, home no longer feels like a safe place, even during a quarantine.

The other scary thing about cyberbullying is that once it is out there…it is usually out there forever. It’s easier for bullies to be relentless when they can hide behind a screen and not have to say or do something to their victim in person. While some bullying can be very blatant and obvious, other forms can be subtle yet still cau...