The Online World, “…a digital playground and no one is on recess duty.”
Today I saw this quote on Twitter by Kevin Honeycutt: Kids online today reminds me of Lord of the Flies, a book written in 1954 by William Golding that delves into the dark side of human nature. This classic is about a group of British boys alone on a deserted island who attempt to govern themselves with disastrous results. The online world for kids has largely become a club house for kids parents not wanted complete with their own code language. We need to change that. Kids need parents online as much as they do offline. Why Parents Need to be Involved in their Children’s Online...
Read MoreYour Child is Online, Now What?
Your child is online. You may worry about: What they’re doing. How they’re behaving. The sites they’re visiting. The apps they’re using. The content they’re being exposed to. Who they’re engaging with. How much time they’re spending on their device. That’s a lot to worry about! You care about your child and want to be an involved parent and you know that includes being an online parent in today’s digitally dominated world. While you may be doing a fantastic job in all other aspects of parenting, if you don’t understand today’s technology, you cannot...
Read MoreAre You A Facebook Lab Rat?
The Facebook Experiment Have you ever thought of yourself as a lab rat? I hadn’t either until I learned about Facebook’s emotional manipulation study. The study manipulated the content of the newsfeeds of 700,000 of their (trusting) users. Facebook looked at the impact that positive or negative posts would have. Facebook made an amazing discovery OMG !!, LOL, when people see positive posts it makes them happy and when they see negative posts it makes them sad. Wow, Einsteins at work on their lab rats, namely all of us little peons. This has been dubbed the Facebook...
Read MoreOnline Safety For Kids; Are We Doing Enough?
The state of online safety for children seems to be heading in the wrong direction. Exposure to online risks is increasing for kids today; not decreasing says a leading research group. More kids are being cyberbullied, seeing hate messages, sexual images, meeting up with someone they met online and visiting pro-anorexia sites. Online Safety for Kids; Are We Doing Enough? The numbers should be getting better not worse. Children are clearly being put in harms way and we need to pay serious attention to that and make every effort to turn these numbers around. Technology has so many wonderful...
Read MoreViolent Content, Violent Video Games and Violent Behavior
Recently there was a diabolical attack on a twelve year old girl in Wisconsin. Two girls lured their “friend” into the woods and then stabbed her nineteen times supposedly to impress a nightmarish, fictional online character known as Slender Man. Slender Man can be found on the horror story site, www.creepypasta.com. Since this tragedy the website has taken a step to caution users, by posting this: “This website contains fictional content that may be too scary for younger readers. Please verify that you are either at least 18 years of age or have parental permission before proceeding.” ...
Read MoreBuried in Your Smartphone While Watching the Kids?
Parents distracted by their smartphones… How many of us have felt compelled to check and respond to messages or other activities on our computer devices when we’re supposed to be paying attention to our kids? Lots of hands are being raised (virtually) I’m sure! This study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics found you’re not alone. Recently, while on vacation my husband and I were sitting on our balcony enjoying the beautiful ocean view, palm trees, and sandy beach. Two young children with a soccer ball appeared, with their Dad in tow. Mom was no where to be...
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