Friday, March 30, 2012

Parenting Tween and Teens


Establishing a rapport in the early years with your child will help keep the communication going as they enter tween and teen years. Parenting a tween is not an easy job, I am sure many parents will agree with this. No parent wants to be labeled as the intriguing parent but at the same time parents need to talk with their tweens and teens about what is going on in their lives and sharing with tweens and teens the happenings in their own lives. I see many parents texting their tweens which is fine but as parents we need remember to have a regular conversation with our tweens. It is never too late to start a relationship with your tween or teen, but the sooner the talking happens the better. And remember don’t give up when you get the cold shoulder or the hurtful words from your tween or teen; just stay strong and committed to your children.   

Cyber-predators in the Digital Age


Parents are faced with the digital age today. Parents need to be engaged with the digital age whether you want to or not for the sake of your children. In most cases, the internet is used as a learning and communication tool with eBooks and online education programs. However it is also a place where cyber-predators are targeting innocent children through social networking sites. The cyber-predators are looking for the children who don’t know anything about the dangers of the internet. It is not the children’s fault that they don’t know luring harmful ways of social networking; in fact some adults don’t know either. It is time that people get educated on the hazards of the digital age and not let the cyber-predators have a field day with the trustworthy children.

Parental Monitoring Tips for Cell Phones


As parents’ lives keep getting busier and busier with work, homework, volunteering, school and sports activities just to name a few, how does one find the time to stay on top of  the digital age. To help parents and children with cell phone and online safety, parents often turn to monitoring software for cell phones and smartphones. Some of these software can help children learn how to be responsible with the use of technology.  It is essential today to keep children safe with real-time monitoring, communication and parental tools. It is important to look for software that helps to keep the lines of communication open between you and your child to have a bond of trust. Here are some tips when choosing a parental monitoring software:
  • Connect with your child by creating contact list together for calls, texts and emails that you can manage for any suspicious activity
  • Engage in your child’s cell phone activity by viewing any alerts that are sent to the parents from any contacts that are not on the pre-approved contact list. Usage control puts the parent in charge of the child’s cell phone usage.
  • Explore resources for parents on balancing how to keep kids safe online while empowering them as digital citizens. Keep update with manuals, newsletters and articles.
  • Monitor what your child is doing by setting filters for what multimedia content can download on their phone. Grant temporary access to new and existing phone applications. Disable phone calls during certain times of the day.
  • Communicate with your child about owning or using a cell phone is a privilege not a right. Continue use depends entirely on them being able to demonstrate responsible behavior.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Digital Age Education


Children are growing up in a world that is immerse in technology. A majority of children are a head of their parents in the world of technology.  This can be very dangerous for children because of them lacking the safety knowledge and etiquette. Both parents and schools need to educate children about the new digital social responsibility. Parents need to get over the fear of not understanding or knowing about online technology. Parents cannot afford to leave their children open to cyber-bullying or predators. Children don’t understand how one action online can lead to another and another and then end up on the wrong digital path.

6 Tips for Online Safety


Here are some basic tips parents need to go over with their child before letting them use a smartphone:
  1. Don’t get into an argument or fight online. If someone tries to start an online argument, I will not response back and talk to my parents about it.
  2. Don’t click on links that are sent to me by people I don’t know. Ask my parents first about the link.
  3. Don’t keep online secrets from my parents.
  4. Don’t call anyone I meet online without asking my parents first and even then block the caller ID on my cell phone.
  5. Don’t meet in person anyone you meet online. Tell your parents first that someone wants to meet you.
  6. Don’t accept or send anything to someone you meet online, until you talk to your parents.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Cyber-bullying Research


Facts from a recent study below point out again how parents need to realize how important it is to talk and stay connected with their children so if and when your child is faced with cyber-bullying they know they did not do anything wrong. Here are the findings about cyber-bullying.

This study is from the Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention (CJCP), in which 1726 young people, across four South African cities, shared their experiences of aggression from online networks. The CJCP research shows that one in three children are victims of cyber-bullying at school, while more than two in five (42.9%) had experienced some form of cyber aggression outside of school. The CJCP says, despite growing concerns around this form of malevolence, “very little empirical research has been done in SA on the extent and nature of these forms of cyber aggression.” What has been found to date is almost one in two young people have experience some type of cyber-bullying. The CJCP says “the Internet and mobile technologies are exacerbating the problem because of the increase anonymity and some level of disassociation with acts of aggression, making aggression and bullying much easier through these media.”

Bulllying Reporting Systems


To help with the epidemic of bullying, many states are implementing state laws that require schools to have an anonymous bullying reporting system.  Having the option for kids to report bullying anonymously is recommended by many anti-bullying curriculum.  An example of how it works is a two-way communications tool that allow students to text anonymous message to school officials, then the school officials can reply back to provide the student with help. The first thought I have is majority of schools do not allow students to carry their cell phones with them during school hours so this won’t solve any bullying problems during school hours. The first line of defense for the kids is talking with their parents before bullying happens. This of course needs to brought up by the parents.