Like many of you parents out there, I happen to be in the uniquely challenging position of raising children who were born in the digital age.

Between 1998 and 2003 both Uranus and Neptune toured through the sign Aquarius together. Anyone born between these years has a certain cosmic DNA that strengthens their ability to use technology, especially the Internet, in an almost intuitive way. This generation will have unique experiences and lessons to learn about expressing their individuality.

All glory to the screen

These are the children who are currently at the pre-teen to teenage stage. If you’re anywhere near a school yard these days, I’m sure you’ve witnessed the common scene of an 11 year old clutching his or her iPhone like it’s their candy. You surely must see kids texting and walking in your neighborhood instead of watching where they’re going. These kids are drunk (Neptune) on technology (Aquarius).

Many of these kids prefer to stay inside and play XBOX or Wii rather than ride their bikes or play basketball with friends. These young ones prefer to communicate with their friends via texting (even if they’re in the same room) or video chat.  YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and ooVoo are a normal part of their daily culture. They speak fluent hashtag and text acronym.

Mother knows best

My children, born in 1999 and 2001, are now 13 and 11. I am in the not so enviable stage of raising a teen and a tween … in the digital age. My mother expresses her condolences to me every chance she gets. “It wasn’t like this when I raised you. It’s such a different world today.” My mom has her Sun in Aquarius and she says this to me? Ah, she’s all too familiar with the simultaneous gift and trap that technology offers us.

On the one hand, you may notice that children born during the ‘Uranus and Neptune in Aquarius’ generation have an almost psychic sense about technology and how it works. It’s amazing to watch actually. Who needs the Geek Squad when you’ve got a teenager in the house these days? Yes, these kids are gifted with a deep connection to advanced technology. However, there is also a curse connected to this that any parent will identify with.

The curse is a terrifying reminder of how this generation of children cannot be contained — for better or worse.

Overexposure

Take the 8th grader in my son’s school who posted a naked pic of herself on her Facebook page. No one knows why she did it, but I’m sure you can imagine the aftermath. From what I hear, she’s now suicidal. Last summer, a child at my kid’s camp was caught showing other children Internet porn on his cell phone! Then there’s the kid who got into a fist fight and thought it would be “cool” to have his “toughness” videotaped by a friend watching. The video was quickly passed around, and became evidence to help the victim. That kid doesn’t feel so tough now.

These are real life stories that are happening in the background of my children’s childhood! Don’t be blind … it’s happening in your children’s childhood as well. It’s happening to your child.

What about the never ending YouTube videos posted by tweens and teens across our nation crying for help? This fascinating form of Aquarian self-expression can arouse our compassion and make us aware of humanitarian issues such as bullying and abuse. Unfortunately, it also makes these kids vulnerable in a way they may not quite understand. Once you put something out there on the Internet it’s there … forever. And it might haunt you someday even if, when you’re posting it, you feel like it is completely harmless — or the right thing to do.

The Astrology behind it all

Kids with Uranus and Neptune in Aquarius think it’s “normal” to catalog their life on the Internet. Look, I’m all for transparency. I’ve been known to reveal extremely personal details about my life and experiences on the Internet in order to reach my audience and convey vital astrological messages. But I promise you this, every one of those posts are carefully thought out ahead of time. Each time I make a post, write a blog or post a diary entry to my website, I ask myself if it’s something I’d want my mother or children to read. If there’s an ounce of reservation it’s deleted instantly. I don’t think kids with Uranus and Neptune in Aquarius have that filter. Honestly, I don’t think they care about having that filter.

I find myself sounding more and more like a broken record to my kids, “Guard your electronic health the way you learn to guard your physical health!”

Pedophiles stalk and target tweens on the Internet. Kids text half naked pics to their crush only to have it quickly passed around the entire school or even worse — the Internet. Conversations are recorded without one’s permission and then used to start trouble. Kids are being blackmailed because of technology. Did you know that the vast majority of children are exposed to graphic sexual images on the Internet before they are cognitively ready to process and handle such images?  Are you aware that cyber bullying is almost worse than our obesity epidemic?

My kids aren’t even in high school yet but in many ways I worry that the digital age has robbed them of an innocent childhood. Who am I kidding? It has.

My mother is right. Raising kids in the digital age is a different world entirely. These kids might be techies and computer geniuses, but they are growing up with a unique set of problems that come alone with an endless supply of technology. If you’re a parent of a child born with Uranus and Neptune in Aquarius, remember to pay attention to their digital life as much as you do their physical life.

For them, it’s one in the same.