Paris Hilton has revealed the 'strict' parenting rule she's planning to implement in her home when her two children grow up - and both experts and parents are sure to applaud the socialite for doing so.
The influence of celebrities when it comes to parenting cannot be understated. From the unique baby names celebrities opt for that are increasingly growing in popularity across the globe, to the way celebs posting on social media can get 'normal' parents to invest in the best pram or best pushchair they chose, their influence can be felt everywhere.
That's not to say it's a bad thing. Often the most influential celebrity parents can bring important parenting rules to the attention of the rest of us and that's what Paris Hilton has just done by revealing the 'strict' parenting rule she's planning to implement when her two kids grow up.
The socialite is the proud mother to two young kids, with her welcoming her first baby via surrogate in February last year and her second just seven months later in November.
But while her son, Phoenix Barron Hilton Reum, and daughter, London Marilyn Hilton Reum, are still just a year-old and 6-months-old respectively, she's already thinking about the intricacies of raising them as they get older. And she has one 'strict' rule in mind to curb her biggest worry.
As reported by CNBC, during an appearance at the Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything Festival, she told a panel that she plans to be a “strict” parent and wants to ban her kids from going on social media.
“I’m going to try to not have them have a phone for a while,” she said. “Some of these kids are just getting phones at way too young of an age, and there are just so many things online that I wouldn’t even want my children to be exposed to.”
Hilton's plan is a sensible one according to Zach Rausch, an associate research scientist at NYU-Stern School of Business. Talking to CNBC, he said that research shows kids who had access to social media and phones in general throughout their younger years often report higher levels of anxiety and depression.
“The biggest effects of social media happened during puberty, especially early puberty,” he revealed. “Ages 9 to 15 is where the most significant harm seems to be the clearest.”
Following news that it takes a worryingly short amount of time for children to come across ‘unsafe, age-restricted and illegal content’ online, and that 77% of teenage girls are now reporting 'harmful' digital experiences, many parents will agree that Hilton's plan to be 'strict' is one we should all be taking notes from.
While it may feel overly strict to completely ban kids from having phones or using social media, with some parents thinking that exposing kids to social media earlier will help them learn to handle the pressures of it, Rausch promises, “There’s no clear evidence that giving children access to social media early is better able to prepare them for adulthood later on. All we’ve seen is that these products are generally harmful.”
Instead, he recommends that parents should not give kids smartphones 'before high school,' should ban them from using 'social media before age 16,' should campaign to 'make schools phone-free' and 'give kids far more free play and independence, including more and better recess.'
Considering Paris Hilton's legacy as a socialite and her chronically online lifestyle - she is the inventor of the 'selfie' after all - if anyone knows about the dangers of the online world, it's her. And it's very telling that she's eager to keep her own kids away from all of that.
In other entertainment news, Tyson Fury’s 4 non-negotiable ‘family rules’ revealed as we share why his kids leave school at 11 years old. And, we share what parents of daughters can learn from Bridgerton when it comes to friendships. Plus, people think Katy Perry is pregnant with her second child but we share what's really happened.
