Parenting Online – Our Plugged-In Generation
Parents would never bring their children into the heart of a major city and leave them unattended, yet every time a child sits down at the computer they enter a virtual, unregulated, border-less world where they can engage with anyone around the world. Are parents paying attention to what their children are doing online? According to a recent study, parents do want to know what’s happening in their child’s Facebook world. Some parents friend their child, but many parents are secretly monitoring their children’s social networking accounts, such as Facebook. Parents should be monitoring their...
Read MoreReaching a Healthy Balanced Life in Our Computer-Driven World
Reaching a Healthy Balanced Life that Includes Computers/Smartphones Do you ever worry that your child is on the computer when they should be outside shooting hoops, or they prefer to go on Facebook instead of doing a family activity? You’d like to have a conversation on the way to school, but your child is texting incessantly? Kids need a healthy balanced life consisting of time with family, getting an education, spending time with friends, playing sports/ exercising, getting adequate sleep and then using devices for entertainment. Unfortunately, because of unlimited access to computers, cell phones and...
Read MoreSexting – A Growing National Problem in Today’s Tween/Teen World!
The tween and teen years are naturally full of social angst, especially with regard to boy-girl relationships. Today’s internet-mobile device way of communicating has increased the complexity of today’s teen relationships. In previous generations notes were passed in the classroom to let a boy or girl know you like them. Today’s teens are being pressured to sext, by sending explicit sexual messages or nude or semi-nude pictures. Concern over losing a relationship by not complying and sending a requested “nude” image may propel a tween or teen into hitting the send button and down a road of long term...
Read MoreAnother Teen Facebook “Insult” Page Rears It’s Ugly Head!
Yet Another Facebook Hate Page Recently another Facebook cyberbullying page created solely to insult other kids reared it’s ugly head. Older pages like “Whimsical Girls of FBISD”, a page where students bashed other students that included a naughty list and a want to be naughty list, and “Evanston Rats” were deactivated. Now the latest of these, “SouthRiver Insults”, was also taken down by Facebook after pressure from parents. The comments on these pages could make your hair curl. The harm these pages can cause can be enormous and long lasting, way beyond the page deactivation date. Hiding behind...
Read MoreOnline Predators. Should You Worry?
Your teen comes home from school and goes up to her bedroom, closes the door and goes online. You worry who he or she may be talking to online. You’re not alone. One of the biggest fears that parents have when kids go online is online predators, especially since more than 40% of kids have computers in their bedrooms with webcams. The good news is that your child actually becoming the victim of an online predator is unlikely. The bad news is that “online predators are a threat everywhere”, and are working hard to engage children online. Predators aren’t scary looking and don’t stand out. They look like...
Read MoreYou Think Your Teen is Sleeping – Think Again!
Computers and Cellphones Are Keeping Kids Awake At Night It’s 1 a.m. and Sara wakes to the sound of her vibrating cellphone after a friend sent a text. At 2 a.m. Matt is chatting with his girl friend on Skype. At 6:30a.m.they both wake to the sound of their alarm clocks because it’s a school day. They stumble out of bed bleary eyed and drag themselves to school. While in history class, Sara doses off. Matt rear ends someone at a stop light because he’s not as alert as he needs to be. Fortunately, no one is hurt. This scenario is becoming an all too common problem for tweens/teens suffering from sleep...
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