Parents Need to Teach Facebook Skills
Facebook wants everyone, including kids to share everything about themselves online. They have hired lobbyists and begun a Political Action Committee to overturn the current Child Online Privacy Protection Act because they want kids to be allowed on Facebook under the age of 13. Frequent users of Facebook don’t care much about privacy and how much they’re sharing about themselves to the online world. Adults can make those decisions about their personal privacy, but can kids? The lines are blurring about privacy. Kids are watching reality shows on television that “let it all hang out” and kids...
Read MoreIs Your Child's Online Privacy Being Compromised?
Many child safety advocates are working hard to improve safety online for kids. Part of this effort is from those working on COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) to protect the privacy of children under the age of 13. Why does COPPA matter? Many websites that your child visits collect personal information and data about your child for the purposes of targeted advertising and messaging. Think about that. What kind of ads or messaging is your child being exposed to? What kind of influence may they have? Where does this personal information go? Is a profile being created about your...
Read MoreIs Your Teen Presenting a Positive Online Image for Colleges/Employers?
Some teens who want to be what they deem “popular” and “cool”, boast, exaggerate and sometimes present an amazing image of themselves on Facebook for their thousands of “cool” friends (that they probably don’t know in real life).“21% of kidsclaim they make friends with people they don’t know on social networks to appear to have more friends” If they also think going to college is “cool” or getting a job is “cool” then they may want to get real about their Facebook pages. According to Forbes magazine “The number of college recruiters vetting potential candidates via...
Read MoreOnline Rules Need To Be Followed With Check-Ins
Parents are showing a strong interest in internet safety with 93% of parents establishing rules about usage and time limits, according to a recent Hart/FOSI Survey. Rules are not enough however. Rules need to be followed with check-ins to make sure that kids are learning and following them. One of the first rules we give our children is not to talk to strangers, yet kids are going to websites like Omegle, that opens with the allurement, “Talk To Strangers” and parents don’t know it. We teach our kids not to be bullies, yet cyberbullying continues to escalate with many parents unaware that their child is...
Read MoreCyber-Care and Child-Care Go Hand in Hand
A new school year starts again. A time of new beginnings and high hopes for our children. To help keep kids on the right path for a great and successful school year, include cyber-care on your school list along with pencils, notebooks, haircut, your child’s physical, and new clothing. Cyber-Care is just as important as all of these other school related necessities. Cyber-Care is knowing what your child is doing online to keep them out of harms way and on the path to success. Cyber-Care is teaching safe, appropriate, online behavior. There are so many risks, issues, distractions related to online activity...
Read MoreAre You Aware of the Dangers Online?
by Charlotte Margel “The internet is dangerous.” You hear it all the time. You know that kids have the ability to come across hazardous and inappropriate websites, but how aware are you of how dangerous it actually is? How many websites are there out there that can cause damaging effects on children? Does the internet really have the ability to ruin a child’s future? As a parent do you understand and truly know the effects the internet can have and the websites to look out for? This past June was the National Internet Safety Awareness Month, but the majority of you probably did not know this. Our...
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