Monday, July 29, 2013

Online Predators on Social Networks


Parents in Louisiana will have some help when it comes to monitoring online predators on their kids’ social networking accounts. Beginning in August, registered sex offenders in Louisiana will be required to reveal his or her criminal status on all their social networking accounts.

According to Act 385 which expands House Bill 249, a registered sex offender has to enter that he is a sex offender, state the reason for conviction, address and physical description of himself. All this information must be enter in his profile on all social networking accounts and if it is not he will face up to 10 years of hard labor in prison, a felony charge and $1000 fine.

Even with this new Act, parents still need to have a watchful eye on their teen’s social networking accounts since not all sex offenders will register their pertinent information.

Do you think this Act will help decrease the online predator cases coming from social networking sites?

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

The Digital Age Babysitters


In the digital age, many parents turn to the latest electronic gadget to babysit their children so the parents can have a little peace and quiet. These electronic gadgets such as laptops, iPads, smartphones or gaming consoles have access to the Internet. These electronic gadgets are not the best babysitter since children can wonder off in the Internet world and start talking with a stranger right in the child’s home.

Knowing this, protecting your child from online predators can feel like a full time job these days. With the abundant amount of younger children using the Internet as a learning tool and entertainment, parents need to stay on top of what their children are looking at and where their children are surfing when on the Internet.  

Online predators make it their full time job to lure children and work on disguising who they are online. Online predators can get children’s information from many sources on the Internet such as from a friend’s invitation to a pop-up contest to win great prizes. Children need to be taught to be wary of online strangers and skeptical of things they encounter online. Also the most important lesson is to talk to their parents when something just doesn’t feel right.

Here are some quick tips to protect your children from online predators:
  • Use generic non-gender nicknames for children
  • Don’t put your children’s age, birth year or address online
  • Create and use strong passwords for all your children’s online activities
  • Don’t share your child’s email address in any school or sports directory
  • Subscribe to a parenting monitoring software for that can block applications and websites, such as My Mobile Watchdog

Monday, July 15, 2013

Ten Year Olds Sexting


Sexting as young as ten years old?!?

I recently read a story about ten year old in Australia needing counseling for sexting. The article didn’t state if these ten year olds had their own cell phone but they had access to one to be able to start sexting. A lesson for parents is to talk to your kids about respecting their bodies and not taking or sharing naked photos of themselves or their friends.

If parents are uncomfortable using the term sexting with young kids, then at least talking to them about not taking naked photos of themselves or any body part will help teach them it is not okay to do. Parents today are faced with their kids growing up in the digital age, whether they like it or not, parents need to start to have conversations about what it means to send or share naked photos of themselves or friends.

Parents know their own kids, but kids as young as seven, eight, nine or even younger, are curious about their body parts and others. Without some type of education about what is right and wrong when it comes to showing their body parts could open the door for them to encounter other online dangers with strangers. Young kids who initially send a naked photo may think it is innocent and funny however parents need to talk with young kids about sexting and where the photos could end up. And with having the lines of communication open about sexting, it may help decrease the changes of them sexting as they become a teen.

Have you started to talk to your ten year old about sexting?

Monday, July 1, 2013

Parental Monitoring on Teens' Cell Phones


Are you monitoring your teen's cell phone when he/she is walking across a street? It sounds funny but how many times have you seen a kid texting while walking across a street and almost get hit by a car or bike. Having some parental monitoring on your teens cell phone may just help him/her not get physically hurt.  

As parents, we need to remember to constantly talk to our children about when not to text. Kids shouldn't text when they engaged in activities that require their full attention, such as bike riding, skate boarding, cooking or in situations when he needs to be aware of what is going on around them, such as crossing the street or parking lot. I am sure most of you have seen YouTube videos of adults or kids texting and falling or running into an object or person. We definitely don’t want this to happen to our kids.  

How many parents have talked to your kids about not texting while engaged in another activity?