How To Set Up Facebook and Online Accounts Safely for Your Child
Do you understand the details of how to set up Facebook safely for your child? What cyber safety settings are important? Where do you find them among all the settings options available? How would a potential scammer or predator find your child's details? Join Leonie Smith, the Cyber Safety Lady, in our free webinar on 15th May to learn about safety on Facebook and other online accounts that your child may be using. Read full article
New Smartphone App to Help Find Missing Children
This information will be of interest to so many parents. We are sharing a media release issued today by Australian Federal Police about a new smartphone application that would assist in locating missing children. Developed with the FBI the Australian Police Child ID application allows families to store photographs and vital information about their children on their mobile phone. In the devastating event that a child goes missing, this information can be immediately provided to authorities. Read full article
Will Our Kids Be Better 'Technology Parents'?
So this morning I saw the headline “Our web-addict kids miss out on meals and sleep”.And I thought, somewhat judgementally - surely their parents can do something about that? And at the same time I acknowledged, from my own personal experience, how hard it is to get teens to stop using a computer and do something else. Read full article
Violence in Video Games - What Parents Need to Know
Although strongly challenged by well-credentialed researchers of the opposing view, a considerable body of research supports the view that children’s and adults’ exposure to violent media, including violent video games, increases the risk of verbal and physical aggression. And a 2012 Report of the Media Violence Commission, highlights the need for parents to be thoughtful about their children’s exposure to violent media. This article includes the risks to children, parenting ideas to minimise harm, and coverage of the contrary view, that the risk of exposure to violent media may be overstated. Read full article
Do Your Children Play on Smartphones in Restaurants?
Late last year, I was sitting in a pizzeria in Balmain having dinner with my then 14-year-old. The restaurant was full with most of the tables taken up with families, not a great surprise on an early Saturday night. However, as I looked around the room, I noticed a pretty astounding thing. Apart from our table, every single child in the restaurant – and I mean every single child – was playing on some smartphone, tablet or games device. And these were children of all ages, from kids in prams and high chairs to older teenagers. Read full article
Teens Using Technology - Backlit Devices can Impact on Sleep
New research from the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York, indicates that teenagers who use backlit technology, such as tablet devices, for two hours before bed, may have their sleeping patterns disrupted. At this time of year in Australia, many teens are studying for their final HSC exams and technology usually plays a significant role at this time. Being aware of its possible effects on sleep and melatonin release, may help parents advise their teens on how to ensure they get sufficient sleep. Read full article
Keeping Friendships Alive - Connection beyond Facebook Updates
In a way I talk to my friends more than ever: Facebook, Twitter, text messages and email mean it’s easy to communicate with them. I can show all my friends what’s happening in my life with a quick status update and a photo, and they can do the same. I can show them I’m thinking of them by writing on their wall or ‘liking’ their status. We get to know the facts of each other’s lives ... But sometimes knowing these facts feels lonelier than ever. Read full article
Mobile Phones - Do They Negatively Impact Teen Communication?
I recently came across a blog post about the potential for mobile phones to weaken kids’ conversational skills. The post at the 21st Century Fluency Project (originally posted by Katherine Bindley at Huffington Post) talked about the positive and negative influence of mobile phones and technology in general on the ability of children and teenagers to communicate effectively. The topic caught my eye as my 12-year-old son was going to be receiving his first mobile phone for Christmas. Read full article
Replacing a Playstation with an Electronic Drum Kit Improved Our Children's Behaviour
Not long after the release of Sony’s PlayStation 2 (PS2) in 2000, I won a copy of the newly-released PlayStation game 'This is Football', in an online competition. Around the same time I was also given a shopping voucher as a bonus from work, and I used it to buy a PS2 unit – our family’s first-ever games console, and our first-ever DVD player ... It got to the point that we would ban the PlayStation for periods ... Read full article
Internet Addiction in Children - Is the Blame Game Helpful?
This week there have been several articles in the media about the Network for Internet Investigation and Research in Australia . The team of experts behind the website are hoping to use it to provide information and support relating to internet addiction and obsessive behaviour associated with the use of computers and computer games ... Sadly, when I read the comments following the articles, the discussion was not centred on ways to develop positive computer habits and to diagnose and help those with harmful behaviours linked to internet usage. Read full article
