Judgment – The Teenage Brain Impacts Online Safety
Thanks to Amy Williams for this Guest Blog Post! How Does the Teenage Brain Impact Online Safety? When a baby is learning to walk and toddles too close to the stairs, we thank our lucky stars once we catch her in time. Our child having done this is no mystery; her brain isn’t developed yet, meaning she is unable to perceive the danger of the stairs. We protect our babies by installing safety gates because of this. When an 8-year-old rides his bike over a makeshift ramp and tumbles to the ground, we thank heavens he didn’t hurt himself too badly. We know this whole incident occurred because the...
Read MorePrinting Press to Apps. Oh How The World Has Changed!
Printing Press to Apps The advent of the printing press was a major mass communication revolution which permanently altered the structure of society as ideas and information began to transcend borders. With the advent of the internet, social networking and apps and the multiple devices available today to access the internet we have another revolution taking place that is also transcending borders. This includes the borders of our homes, schools, libraries, cars, …small towns, big cities, countries across the globe, wherever a person happens to be located. The ease with which information is at our...
Read MoreWhat Kind of Parent Are You…. Online?
What Kind of Parent Are You… Online? Every child is different. Kids don’t fit in a box any more than parents fit in a box. Any parent knows that parenting styles are not exact and that there are blurred lines between parenting styles. It’s still important to think about what kind of parenting style you ascribe to. Are you the same kind of parent online that you are offline? Are you teaching online safety and behavior skills just like you teach offline safety and behavior skills? There are Different Parenting Styles… 1. Authoritarian 2.Authoritative 3. Permissive...
Read MoreApps, Tweens and Teens: A Risky Combo
It may be hard to keep up with new apps that kids are using as new apps are growing at what feels like Star Trek warp speed. But it’s not hard to ask and answer the right questions and talk to your tween or teen about apps and online safety. Most parents are very familiar with the apps Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. What are some of the other most popular apps for teens? What should parents think about when it comes to apps and online safety and what should they be talking to their kids about? What Type of App is it? Parents and kids need to think about the type of app it is. Is it a...
Read MoreThe 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...
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