Introduction

Being a parent is not all about giving birth but the ability to guide your children to become responsible adults. A parent’s job is to guide, love, criticize, and support their children in becoming individuals who can overcome difficulties when faced with them.  

Virtual Parenting

The evolution of technology in modern times has alleviated the necessity of having a parent around to parent a child.  Virtual Parenting is a parenting style whereby the presence of a parent is not needed but parent time is facilitated by tools such as telephone, email, instant messaging, video conferencing, and other wired or wireless technologies over the Internet or other communication media.

Circumstances That Can Lead To Virtual Parenting

To begin with, the most common circumstance that could lead to virtual parenting is divorce. Divorce can be easy and less painful when there are no kids involved and the couple just signs a piece of paper confirming their separation. But when kids are involved, the parents do not only think about themselves but their kids’ wellbeing as well. The kids’ feelings are taken into consideration, and measures are put into place to make sure the kids feel comfortable. Such a measure that has become popular in most recent divorce cases is virtual parenting. This process supplements in-person visits between a noncustodial parent and a child or between a child and the custodial parent when the child is staying with the noncustodial parent. Virtual parent time is not designed to replace in-person parent time. Another factor that could lead to virtual parenting is when one or both parents are not readily present in the child’s life due to migration or work.

Advantages of Virtual Parenting

It allows parents to communicate with their children at all times without distracting their daily routines or any extensive traveling. As children hear and see their parents through video calls, it generates a feeling of emotional stability. This benefits parents who have restricted rights or are incarcerated. Regardless of a parent’s location, they can interact with children in real time. This is beneficial to parents who live in another country.

Disadvantages of Virtual Parenting

The main disadvantage of virtual parenting is network difficulty. Since virtual parenting has to do with parenting online, parents can only parent with the use of a stable internet connection. Internet instability can affect parents who resort to virtual parenting. Most of the time, these messaging apps can ask for private information that can breach parent-child privacy. 

Conclusion 

Parenting has its ups and downs. While it’s important to stay connected with your children, virtual parenting can also create a feeling of distance between parents and children. It is important to find a balance between virtual parenting and in-person communication.

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