Great Tips for Kids Cell Phone Safety

Can you hear me now? According to research, 22 percent of young children own a cell phone (ages 6-9), 60 percent of tweens (ages 10-14), and 84 percent of teens.

Now that it’s back-to-school time, many parents make the decision to arm their kids with cell phones. Parents generally say they do so for safety reasons; they want to be able to reach the child anytime. Cost is also a factor. Cell phone industry experts say phones and family plans are both becoming more affordable. Also, as adults swap out their old devices for newer smart phones, it is easier to pass down a used phone.

But for children, it is all about social life. A Pew study found that half of 12- to 17-year-olds sent at least 50 text messages a day and texted their friends more than they talked to them on the phone or even face to face.

Of course, owning a cell phone comes with possible outside threats. Here are 10 tips from www.SafetyWeb.com to help keep your kid safe while using a cell phone:

• Get Educated and Prepared. Talk to your kids about the dangers and consequences associated with inappropriate cell phone use. Discuss topics including sexting and texting while driving. Make sure you get caught up on the lingo of popular acronyms and initialisms. Ask your kids to save any abusive or problem messages to show an adult.

• Select Appropriate Phone Features. If your child is under 10, they probably don’t need a phone with unlimited social networking or email capabilities. Likewise, the actual phone itself doesn’t need built-in features like a web browser or video messaging. For a young child, look for basic phones. Review all pre-programmed apps and phone capabilities beforehand.

• Use Parental Controls. If your child’s cell phone has access to the internet, find out if your service provider offers some sort of parental control feature to which you can subscribe.

• Limit Usage. Designate time slots for talking — perhaps after homework and chores are completed, or before dinner. Don’t let constant calls interrupt family time. It’s easy for a chatty teen to cuddle up to a phone at bedtime, so check periodically.

• Consider Monitoring Services. Perhaps your child is older, but you’re still not comfortable with him or her texting and emailing unmonitored. SafetyWeb provides parents with comprehensive alerts and reports on their child’s cell phone calls and text message activity. This allows you to keep track of when they are using the phone (during school hours or late at night), and who they are communicating with most frequently.

• Wait – Before Answering. Instruct your child not to answer calls or text messages from numbers they don’t recognize. If it is important, the caller will leave a message and then he can decide how to respond. Explain how to block calls from unwanted numbers.

• Pre-program numbers. To help keep your kids safe, make sure their cell phones have all important phone numbers preprogrammed into it so they can always get a hold of someone if they’re in trouble.

• Stay Organized. Always keep your child’s cell phone charger in the same place. It’s best to find a central location — like maybe the kitchen counter, or a table by the door. Mark the end of the monthly billing cycle on a calendar to remind her how long those dwindling minutes have to last.

• Practice Privacy. Tell your teen to use caution when giving out a phone number. Make sure they don’t publicize their number on the Internet or social sites like Facebook.

• Be Careful of Download Overload. Fun ringtones, games, and backgrounds – oh my! But, be careful. These such features can come with potential bugs or hidden fees.

What are some of your safety tips?

Information courtesy of SafetyWeb

How To Spot Childhood Bullying

Bullying is not a new challenge for children, but it has been taken to a whole new level the past few years with the increase in cyber bullying. “Parents want to protect their children from being bullied, but few kids are just going to come right out and say it’s happening,” says North Shore Pediatric Therapy Social Worker Dori Mages, MSW, LCSW. “But there are warning signs that your child could be the victim of bullying.” Some of the signs may include:

• Not wanting to go to school or complaining about being sick with no clear physical ailments.
• Being scared to walk to or from school, refusing to take the school bus, or begging you to drive him to school.
• Coming home with clothes, books, or belongings destroyed, “lost”, or missing.
• Coming home starving (because the bully took his lunch money).
• Asking for money or starting to steal money (to pay the bully).
• Becoming withdrawn, distressed, or anxious.
• Crying himself/herself to sleep or having nightmares.
• Beginning to bully other children, especially siblings.
• Refusing to go to the bathroom at school and/or coming home with a sense of urgency.
• Attempting or threatening suicide.
• Giving unlikely excuses for any of the above.

Figuring out what to do to help your child if bullying is occurring may be the harder part. The most important thing is that your kids feel they have a safe place to go to talk about it, even if it’s an aunt, uncle, teacher or grandparent and not you. You also shouldn’t assume they did anything to bring on the teasing and let them know that it doesn’t matter if they did.

“Parents shouldn’t try to solve the problem. You cannot fight your child’s battle for him or her,” says Mages. “Come up with some ideas that he thinks might work and then help him think through the possible outcomes. This teaches your child the lifelong gift of problem-solving mastery.”

Once you’ve confirmed that the bullying is happening, it’s important to contact your child’s teacher to raise awareness about what’s going on so the teacher can be on the lookout for the behavior. Ask the school to keep your conversation private to avoid retribution directed at your child. If the bullying doesn’t stop or increases in severity, address the principal. If the actions progress and there is a threat of physical violence, it’s considered a crime and the proper authorities must be notified.

Courtesy of Dori Mages, North Shore Pediatric Therapy Social Worker

More Than One in Five Parents Feel Ill-Equipped to Prevent Kids From Trying Drugs and Alcohol

New survey data from Partnership for a Drug-Free America^® and MetLife Foundation finds that more than one in five parents feel unable to prevent their kids from trying drugs and alcohol. To help motivate and equip parents to talk with their kids about the dangers of substance abuse, the two organizations are focusing the next phase of their award-winning radio campaign, which kicks off today, on better preparing parents on ways to safeguard their kids from the risks of drug and alcohol use.

To begin an ongoing conversation, the Partnership and MetLife Foundation’s parenting skills campaign will air educational messages on radio stations in local markets nationwide through the end of October. The campaign is backed by online tools and tips for raising drug-free teens. A brochure containing helpful tips, called “Your Child Needs You,” and other resources are also being made available. All can be found at drugfree.org.

Parents Need Help Responding to Recent Increases in Teen Drug Use

The new data comes from the 2009 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS), sponsored by MetLife Foundation, which found more than one in five parents feel there is little they can do to prevent their kids from trying drugs (22 percent) and alcohol (27 percent). The survey also found only two in five parents (39 percent) feel strongly that they could immediately stop their kids from using drugs once they’ve started.  PATS data released earlier this year also confirmed marked increases in teen use of alcohol, Ecstasy and marijuana, namely those substances that teens are most likely to encounter is social situations.[1] The need for parents to play a more active role in helping protect their kids from dangerous behaviors posed by the use of drugs and alcohol is underscored in the campaign.

“It’s crucial that we help parents understand the threats facing teens today, help them be more confident about their ability to make a difference, and equip them with useful resources, which is the purpose of this campaign,” said Steve Pasierb, president of the Partnership. “What many parents may not realize is that they, not athletes, movie stars or popular music artists, are in fact the biggest influence in the lives of their children. Kids who learn a lot about the risks of drugs at home are up to 50 percent less likely to use drugs than those who do not get that critical message from their parents.”

The campaign features radio messages in English and Spanish, stressing the importance of talking with kids about drugs and alcohol to parents, encouraging them to overcome their fears about starting a dialogue with kids about these dangerous behaviors, and motivating parents to stay involved in their children’s lives to keep them healthy. Messages in English will air on radio stations in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas/ Ft. Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Phoenix, Providence, San Francisco/Oakland, Tampa and Tulsa. In Chicago, Dallas, Orlando, Phoenix, San Diego and San Antonio, the radio messages will also air in Spanish.

“By talking with teens about the dangers of drug and alcohol use, parents can help protect their kids and keep them safe,” said Dennis White, president and CEO of MetLife Foundation. “Parents strongly influence the decisions teens make and this campaign provides much-needed tools to help parents feel better equipped to discuss this important health issue with their kids.”

Visitors to drugfree.org can download copies of the brochure “Your Child Needs You! A guide to help your child lead a healthy drug-free life,” available in English, Spanish and Chinese languages. The brochure includes information on the dangers of illicit drug use and helps parents prevent drug use in their own families. Free copies are available from the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information at 877-767-8432.

Information courtesy of DrugFree.org

5 Ways Parents Can Help Prevent Cyberbullying

A Florida State University study revealed that to combat cyber-bullying many kids needed a solid support system at home. The study involved 426 adolescents, with 15 of them suffering various degrees of bullying. Researchers discovered that the main difference was from styles of parenting. Kids whose parents provided support and authority had a higher sense of respect and were more likely to turn to their parents to deal with bullies. Those children did not suffer the effects of cyber-bullying as much as other children in the study.

1. Monitor your child’s Internet use- Checking their browsing history isn’t enough because it can be easily erased or not recorded at all. Parental control or monitoring software is the best option because it tracks every move your child makes online.
2. Make careful decisions about which online networks you allow your child to join. Pay close attention to news and media buzz surrounding the site, and read the site’s recommended age restrictions. Parents should join the networking site before they allow their kids to so they can make first-hand decisions about whether they feel it is appropriate or not.
3. Talk with your child about building and maintaining a good online reputation. Some kids are simply picked out of the blue as a target for bullies. Other times they bring it upon themselves by provoking it and by engaging in behavior that invites cyberbullying into their lives. Remind your child that the Internet is never anonymous, and that anything they put online is visible to everyone. Provide guidelines about what is acceptable online behavior and what is considered risky behavior that could potentially invite unwanted attention.
4. Check out what their peers are doing online. See what their classmates and friends are doing on social network sites and which ones they’re using. Besides checking just Facebook and MySpace, visit newer social sites like formspring.me and stickydrama.com. These sites are targeted to the 10-14-year-old age group and can be breeding grounds for cyberbullying. Talk with your child and let them know that even if they are mature enough to use social networking sites responsibly, the same can’t always be said of their peers.
5. Teach your child to lead by example. Talk to your kids about the harm cyberbullying can cause, and teach them to be nice to kids online. Teach them that just because their peers are being mean to someone doesn’t make it okay for them to jump on the bandwagon. Tell them to walk away from groups of kids who have started cyberbullying instead of dragging it out further and making the situation worse.

Go to the Internet Safety blog at blog.internetsafety.com to get more information on how to detect if your child has become the victim of cyberbullying and and how to respond if your child is being bullied.

Information courtesy of Internet Safety

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