School is Back… So Are Cyber-Risks!
School is Back… So Are Cyber-Risks! School is back… It’s time to wake up and get going. Hopefully you won’t have to get out a marching band to wake up your child in the morning. Hopefully your child is getting enough sleep and is not on their device late at night so that they can get up. And also, did you know that getting only six hours of sleep can lead to the common cold. So put those devices away at night! So here we go, a typical school morning… Wake up, get dressed, change outfits several times, spend hours noticing that one pimple and then covering it up with gobs of make up, fixing the...
Read MorePerfect Storm for Tweens and Teens Online
Combine the perfect storm of raging hormones and devices… Combine the perfect storm of raging hormones with smartphones/tablets/computers and what do you get? Tweens/Teens doing dumb things online. Kids will always do dumb things online and offline. Why? Because they are not miniature adults as many like to believe. They are adolescents with underdeveloped brains. The undeveloped part of the brain that helps them make good decisions, have good judgment and control impulsive behavior is not fully developed until an adult reaches the age of 24. Having friends/peers in the mix increases...
Read MoreSummer Time Parenting Online
What are you doing to Parent Online this summer? Summer vacation is starting around the country. Are you being mindful of your children, tween and teen’s online habits? Recently I was sitting right next to a family in a restaurant. This family comprised a Mom, Dad, a baby and a five year old. The little boy had his head down in a smartphone the entire lunch. Makes for a nice, quiet peaceful lunch, doesn’t it? But, all I could think of was what this little boy was looking at on this internet connected device? Were these parents sure that the content he was looking at was appropriate...
Read MoreLive Streaming Apps Lets Kids Share “In the Moment”
New Online Craze for Kids… Live Streaming is the latest fad, and may put kids at risk! What’s the latest online craze for kids? Live Streaming Apps. What is live streaming you ask? Kids simply point their smartphone cameras at whatever interests them (including themselves) and that video footage is transmitted over the Internet to other viewers. Living in the moment is what these apps are all about and one of the reasons why they’re so popular with tweens and teens today. Living in the moment, often impulsively, can put kids at risk for...
Read MoreTregedy Averted
This Potential Tragedy was Averted… “ A Colombine style attack”, that is what a teen threatened a school a few days ago only twenty-five minutes away from where I live, using the social media phone app, Whisper. This happened in a quiet, sleepy, picturesque town of less than 5,000 west of Boston, where working farms and apple orchards abound. The Nashoba regional high-school represents several towns in the area and has a student population of just over 1000. When I saw this article, I thought about just how important it is for parents to be aware of what their kids are posting online. Thank...
Read MoreISIS Recruiters Use Predator Grooming Tactics
ISIS Lures Teens on Social Media When kids go online, there are many risks, cyberbullying, exposure to inappropriate content, damage to reputation and more. Now there is a new one to add to already crowded field, ISIS recruitment. Similar to the grooming tactics of online predators, ISIS recruiters also groom their victims. Grooming is the process by which trust is gained and a relationship is established. Many vulnerable adolescents may have no idea that they are being groomed. Adolescence is notoriously a time of turmoil, raging hormones and pushing away from parents to establish...
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