Start the New Year By Being a Proactive Online Safety Parent!
What was your New Year’s resolution? I hope you resolved to be a proactive online safety parent! Proactive preventive actions are directed towards a potential problem in the future. They help prevent a problem from ever happening. Parents prevent harm to their children everyday in many ways. Electric outlet covers are installed to prevent little fingers and other objects from being inserted into an exposed electrical outlet. Bicycle helmets are worn to prevent head injury when children ride their bikes. Mom makes sure the bathtub water isn’t too hot to protect against burning and makes sure there is a mat on...
Read MoreTween/Teen Check-List for Computer Use
Does Your Tween or Tween Have a Check-List for Computer Use? Before your new young driver hits the road at 16, you as their parent instill the value of a mental check-list before your child pulls out of the driveway. Seat-belt on √, cellphone put away √, seat adjusted √, mirrors adjusted √, driver’s license √, plenty of gas √ etc. Driving requires a great deal of responsibility and awareness to make sure the experience is a safe one. When kids log-on to the computer, parents also need to instill a kind of check-list. Site child is visiting is safe and parent approved √; child is old...
Read MoreTeach Your Tweens and Teens to Create Strong Passwords for their Social Networking Accounts
Two Million passwords to Facebook, Google, Twitter and Yahoo accounts were recently stolen. The most common password was revealed to be “123456”. Really?? Having an easy-to-figure-out-password puts individuals at risk for having their personal information compromised and could lead to identity theft. In this digital age, it’s important to take security and privacy seriously in order to protect personal information on all of your accounts. This means having strong and different passwords on each account and putting your personal passwords in a safe location that only you can...
Read MoreDon’t Let Your Teen’s Use of Computer Devices Take Over Their Life or Yours!
Please, put your cellphone away! Last evening we sat down to play a game of Apples to Apples for a bit of family time. (love this game!) We were all laughing and very engaged until my daughter picked up her smartphone and became glued to it. Finally, I asked her to put it away. She did, begrudgingly in a way that only teens can do. How do you get teens to part with their computer devices for family time or simply face to face time? There is no doubt that it’s hard to set boundaries with teens. And as a parent especially when you’re playing a game and trying to have fun, you can feel like the bad guy...
Read MoreKids have Gone Mobile! What are some of the most popular T-Apps and TW-Apps for tweens and teens today?
Tweets, Pheeds, Snaps… There’s no doubt that it’s hard for a parent to keep up with which mobile T-App or Tw-App their tween or teen is using today on their smartphone! But in today’s rapidly changing digital world, it’s important for parents to be aware of the Apps kids are using, many of which have age restrictions, may expose a child to adult content and privacy risks. Parents are the 1st line of defense when it comes to Online Safety! Instagram: An online photo-sharing, video-sharing and social networking service that allows its users to take pictures and...
Read MoreFacebook’s New Privacy Settings May Put Children/Teens At Risk!
Do You Know About the New Facebook Privacy Changes for Teens? Teens ages 13-17 will now be able to post publicly if they choose instead of having just “friends” or “friends of friends” see their posts. As we all know, we’re not just talking about kids ages 13-17. There are at least 7.5 Million kids under 13 years old on Facebook according to a 2011 survey; that number is probably much higher now. Facebook’s spin is that, “Teens are among the savviest people using social media, and whether it comes to civic engagement, activism, or their thoughts on a new movie, they want to be heard. So,...
Read More
