This post was sponsored by Google as part of a #DigitalWellbeing Blog Tour for Forward Influence Network and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

I remember my very first email so clearly. It was from my husband. We were friends in college and he used the college telnet to send me the story of a heroic prince rescuing a princess from a dragon. I wrote back to him begging for more of the story.

Fast forward a few years to researching senior papers and I had to learn how to properly cite using a website as a source.

The digital world expanded exponentially around us. I didn’t have to stand downstairs in my dorm at a payphone with a bag of quarters to call home. My children will probably never know the stress of folding a map correctly so that it will fit back inside the glovebox. It is incredible!

But now, how do we establish healthy habits around our digital wellbeing? Just as we learn about the food we put into our bodies and we teach our children about all of the ways to make great choices to eat healthy, where do we turn for information about how to keep our digital choices healthy?

How do we encourage our children to engage responsibly with technology? How do we maintain the positive influence of technology in the lives of our children? Is it possible to encourage an atmosphere of patience and calm as we learn?

I’m so excited to share with you that Google is a pioneer in this area. They are gathering experts and creating resources for families to use. Google has created digital wellbeing tools.

First, I used their self-reflection tool to really think through every aspect of how I’m using technology. Over the past year, I’ve been purposeful about not carrying my phone around the house with me. This included setting up a family-time box by the front door. The self-reflection tool helped me think of other ways I can choose to be present to family and guests, like turning off email notifications while I’m working on projects.

Then, I printed out Google’s Family Guide PDF to go over with our family. You guys – I loved this. The kids were all proud of us that we already have a family-time box in our home.

As soon as we walk in the door, keys get hung up and sunglasses and phones are placed in the Sweet Home box. It has become part of our home routine.

In the family guide, it also suggests that we use technology to learn something new. This recommendation leverages the goodness technology can bring. My kids love random trivia, so after dinner, we look up silly things while we clean up. Tonight, Riley decided he wanted to go on an adventure to Africa. We looked up food options he might choose from and he then decided China would be a much better choice for him!

I love incorporating technology into the family in a fun way that brings us together.

I hope you take a few minutes and look into Google’s digital wellbeing tools at wellbeing.google. Let me know how you use Google’s Digital Wellbeing initiative to enrich your family life through technology!