Network Safety

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Social networking is a fun way to re-connect and stay connected with those you know and love. Unfortunately, it is also a way that others can spy and prey on you. It’s important that we explain to our tweens and teens what they can and cannot share on their networking page. You just never know who is watching.

A perfect example is that terrific vacation you’ve been planning. Never mention how or when you will get there. Keep the surprise alive until you have safely returned from your trip. No matter how exciting the destination is, remind your children (and yourself) not to share this information online until after you get home. Encourage the kids to keep a hand-written account of their days. They can transfer it to the web later. Even their texting should be curtailed while you’re away. You do not want the wrong people to know that no one is home. It makes your house an easy target for burglars.

Parenting children requires you to gain knowledge of the electronic devices and destinations before your kids do. Not always easy. One Mom told us that she went to one of her teenage neighbors, and asked for “lessons” on what is out there, when her daughter was only 10 years old. She wanted to know what things her daughter might hear about on the playground. Even though the rules in your house restrict internet use, you need to consider what your child’s friends have access to. Not everyone tightens up their computer’s privacy settings.

Computers are here to stay, and they are changing everyday. Make your child aware of your concerns, when you restrict their use of phones, pods, pads, and computers. When kids understand why you have the rules you do, they will most likely follow those rules, even when you are not there to look over their shoulder.

Filed Under: Social Networks, Teens Tagged With: , ,

Filtering the Foes: How Net Nanny Protects Children Online

When you can’t watch your children at home, you might hire a babysitter or nanny to supervise them. But what do you do when your children are at home and roaming the ungoverned Internet? There’s no nanny to protect them; there’s no authority figure at all to tell them what to do and what not to do online. This is where Net Nanny steps in. Net Nanny 2.0 is the newest version of the Internet filter for Apple computers. With Net Nanny 2.0, safeguarding your children from inappropriate and dangerous material online costs only $39.99. When you purchase Net Nanny, you will be provided with the following filter features:

  • Customizable profiles with age-appropriate settings
  • Protection from online predators with the explicit and inappropriate language filter
  • Chat and browsing reports for parents to monitor Internet messages and websites visited by their children
  • Advanced filters for FTP/SFTP, SSL, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and more
  • Ability to block all games, some games, or no games at any time
  • The power to block sites based on content or for any other reason
  • Updates automatically and is easy to control and use
  • E-mails are sent to parents automatically if something hazardous occurs
  • Full logs of online activity can be perused in both simple and advanced formats

Net Nanny works even if more than one child uses the computer. Because there are age settings and everything is password protected, Net Nanny knows who is on the computer as well as what he or she is doing. While Net Nanny certainly appears strict, the settings are completely customizable, allowing the parent to change them as their children mature.

If you’re not filtering the Internet for your children, you’re basically inviting them to find unsuitable content. You wouldn’t let your child look through nude magazines or swear out loud to their friends, why should you give him the chance to do so online?

Filed Under: Social Networks, Teens Tagged With: , ,

Dealing with a Teenager with an Addiction

It is not an uncommon occurrence for a teenager to develop an addiction to drugs or alcohol. Peer pressure, stress and a wide variety of other causes can lead a teenager to addiction, and unfortunately, it can be difficult for the teenager to ask for the help they need when the addiction takes total control of their life. If you are a parent with a teenager who is struggling with an addiction, then it becomes vitally necessary for you to know what to do so that you can help your teenager get the support and the rehabilitation help that they need to overcome the addiction and to move on with his or her life.

The first thing to know is that by having an open and honest relationship with everyone in your family, you can help to avoid addictions. When you have family dinners, family game night and similar get-togethers where everyone in the family is expected to attend, this can keep the family closer and more in touch, which can keep your children from turning to addiction as a means of coping with issues they don’t feel they can share.

If you determine that one of your children is battling an addiction, talking to them and getting them help is vitally essential. You can help your child find the right rehabilitation facility, such as MichaelsHouse.com, which will allow him or her to develop healthy habits and overcome the hold that the drug addiction has on your child. There is no reason why you cannot help your teenager get help and support so that the addiction can be swiftly dealt with and overcome. As a parent it is up to you to make sure that your child is getting help. Children and teens rarely know how to ask for help for themselves, so make sure that you are there to help along the way.

Filed Under: Parenting, Teens Tagged With: , ,

Claiming Children as Dependents in Your Taxes

When you are a parent with children, it is important for you to understand how it changes the way you file your taxes. Knowing how to claim your children as your dependents is an important part of knowing how to file the taxes for your family. There are a number of specific tax breaks that you can receive when you are a parent with children. If you want to get the maximum refund back it is going to be important for you to know what tax breaks, deductions, and other things to claim. Are there other tax breaks that you are going to want to claim, like school breaks, breaks for donating clothing, or other deductions that involve your children either directly or indirectly?

When you choose to opt for the free tax filing route, the benefit is that a software or web application can walk you through the process, asking insightful questions about your tax status. These software options will ask you about your children, dependent statuses, and other tax breaks and deductions that you may qualify for. It is important that you go through an automatic tax filing software service like this because these are more effective at helping you get the best possible refund than if you were going through the entire process on your own.

There are many considerations to make when filing your taxes if you have a family with children. If you do your taxes correctly, you should be able to get a sizable refund back because the IRS looks favorably upon families with young children. Going through a free tax filing service is going to have a profoundly positive impact on your ability to get the best possible refund back, so this is one of the best options you can choose for your family.

Filed Under: Parenting, Teens Tagged With: ,

You Never Know Who’s Friending Your Child on Facebook

When Facebook was first launched, it was a social networking tool exclusively for college students. A university email was required to sign up, and it allowed the college crowd to find classmates, friends they met at parties, and stay in touch with students from other schools. Over the years, Facebook has changed to become a cultural phenomenon of the highest order. Anyone can create a Facebook page now — even kids. But is Facebook safe for the younger generations? The same predators that have stalked children in chat rooms can now friend them on Facebook.

It’s possible to filter your computer so that websites such as Facebook are not accessible by your child, but it’s a tricky situation. Facebook has the potential to be a very positive experience for children. They’re able to connect with their friends and share their opinions in an open forum. If you’re not inclined to completely blocking Facebook privileges from your child, there are other options you can consider.

  • Facebook offers customizable privacy settings. You can help your child choose the privacy settings you find most appropriate and hope they adhere to those settings. For example, you can modify the settings so that your child cannot be tagged in photos or so people who are not your child’s Facebook friend cannot see his or her page.
  • Have a conversation with your child. Explain to your child dangers presented online. Facebook allows its users to post their hometowns, phone numbers and current locations. Explain to your child that that means anyone looking at his or her page can know all that information.
  • Invest in an Internet filtering program that alerts the parent when inappropriate language or content is used or viewed.
Filed Under: Parenting, Teens Tagged With: , ,

Moms Know Best

Of course moms know best! We’re there for the first feeding, the first walk, and the first word. We’re there to kiss the boo-boo and tuck you in at night. We’re there for the first day of school when you don’t want to leave, then can’t remember why you stayed away so long. We’re there for all the report cards, tests and homework assignments. We’re also there when you learn to drive and get ready to leave the roost. You may be just a baby now, but that doesn’t mean I can’t get you ready for your future.
For my own children, I’ve decided to build a list of special internet bookmarks to go with their scrapbooks. These are valuable learning sites that I’m collecting to help them in their oncoming studies. It’s amazing how many resources are just mouse clicks away. I’m organizing them into all the different levels of learning. For the preschool years, I have plenty of interactive games for them to play. As they get older there are terrific reading and writing aids wrapped up in fun stories. For the middle school years, I’ve found sites about science and geography. Once they reach high school, I’ll have resources for them that will help them with writing term papers. But I’m not stopping there. I want my kids to have the best education and that means college.
Getting a major degree like an MBA will help them immensely in life. That’s why I have a site all ready for a GMAT class online. This is the exam they will have to take before they can be accepted into college. Do I understand what’s on this test? No! But I don’t have to. This prep course provides sample questions and the ability to talk right to a teacher about the test. All of this means my kids will be ready!
Filed Under: Parenting, Teens Tagged With: , ,

Can Children Safely Search Online?

Search Engines such as Google, Yahoo! and Bing provide comprehensive results at fast speeds. Comprehensive, though, means everything — the good and the bad. Although all major search engines allow for safe search options and limited filtering, it’s impossible to catch everything. So what do you do if your child needs to perform research online for school? As a parent, it’s your duty to protect your child from questionable content, but the Internet complicates things. Thank goodness there are websites catered to children for just this kind of predicament! The following list details three such research websites.

  1. Ask Jeeves For Kids: Found at ajkids.com, Ask Jeeves for Kids allows the child to pose questions into the search bar just as if they were asking their parent or teacher a question. The results are heavily filtered and professionals scrutinize the answers before they are published.
  2. KidsClick!: This website, kidsclick.org, was created by librarians for children to complete research online. The visitor can search by category or type in a keyword search. KidsClick! is great for teaching research skills to a younger crowd.
  3. Yahooligans: Based on its Yahoo! counterpart, Yahooligans was designed for children ranging from 7 to 12 years old. Created in 1996, Yahooligans is the oldest child research directory, and it’s also one of the most complete.

If your child isn’t finding the information he or she needs on the kid-friendly sites, there are fairly safe alternatives through using the advanced settings on major search engines. This path is not foolproof, but if you assist your child and remain present throughout the research time, there should be few problems. A number of major search engines and the way to enable safe searching is listed below.

    • AskJeeves: Go to the settings page and choose “Content Filtering”
    • Google: Click the “SafeSearch” help page
    • Yahoo: Go to the search preferences section and choose “SafeSearch Filter”
    • MSN Search: Visit the settings page and click the filter
    • HotBot: Go to the filter preferences page and choose “Block Offensive Content”
    • Lycos: On the advanced search filters page, choose “Adult Filter”
Filed Under: Internet, Social Networks, Teens Tagged With: , , ,

K​ids on the Internet

The World Wide Web has brought a wealth of information in reach of our children, introducing them to foreign locations, peoples, languages and concepts. Unfortunately, however, the Internet may also introduce our children to subjects of a more insidious nature. Keeping our kids safe on the Internet is sometimes incredibly difficult, but most such situations can be avoided by instituting some rules, guidelines and insisting on supervising our kids’ Internet activities. There are also a number of protective software programs that parents can install which will monitor and filter the information that our children access online.

No parent wants to feel like they are invading the privacy of their kids, but it is important to realize that the Internet holds many dangers for young people. For instance, it is not just the visual content they may be exposed to, although some of the more deviant depictions can be incredibly damaging for children; there are also child predators who use the Internet to identify, attract and seduce their targets. Quite often these predators are pretending to be of a similar age to the child, but more often they will present themselves as someone only slighter older and infatuated with the child in question. Parents should have frank discussions with their children about the dangers involved in surfing on the Internet, especially in regards to accepting friend requests from strangers on Facebook and MySpace. There have been far too many stories of young girls falling for the misrepresentations of older men.

Staying involved in your child’s life, including the interactions conducted online, is still the best method for keeping kids safe from the darkest influences on the Internet. Making sure to establish limits on the amount of time kids spend surfing is the first step to ensuring that the experience they have is free of dangerous content. Following that, telling your children what to avoid and how to do so will also help keep them out of harm’s way.

Filed Under: Internet, Teens Tagged With: ,

Enjoying Family Time with Your Child’s First Pet

Getting your child her first pet, whether it is adopted from the pound, purchased from a reputable breeder, or chosen from a friend’s, relative’s or neighbor’s litter is always an enjoyable time. At first, most of the responsibility will be yours, but you won’t really mind when you realize that having a pet is a perfect way to enjoy family time.

All pets need fresh air and exercise, which, incidentally, are exactly the same things that family members need, and there is no better way to get these than to take a pet for a walk, going to a pet-friendly park, or simply getting out in the yard and playing with the pet. This is why choosing a dog for a first pet is often the best choice. A dog loves to run and play, and can be easily trained, making the family time more enjoyable.

As you start spending family time together that includes the pet, specifically parks or other dog-friendly places, you’ll probably notice that many dog owners have their pets dressed up in cute pet costumes. These may be as simple as a sweater denoting the family’s favorite sports team (and, when you look, you’ll most likely see the family wearing their “colors”, too).

Other pet costumes can include superhero costumes. Nothing is cuter than seeing a little boy (or girl, for that matter) running around in a superhero costume, being chased by the family dog who is also sporting the same one, or that of the superhero’s sidekick.

If you shop carefully for pet costumes, you can get those that aren’t too heavy or do not hinder the dog’s movements in any way. You can also find those that slip on and off easily, so you don’t have to worry about your dog getting restless while you’re trying to get the costume on. Online costume sites are good places to look for pet costumes.

Filed Under: Parenting, Teens Tagged With: , ,

Three Signs Your Child is Being Bullied

Many parents would hope their child would let them know if he or she is being bullied. Unfortunately, most children are too afraid to tell. The fear of retaliation is so great, many children suffer in silence. Bullying has become such a problem, many school systems have developed strict measures to deal with school bullies. In addition, many schools have instituted educational programs to help children deal with bullies.

There are three signs that may indicate your child is being bullied. The most notable sign is if your child often claims to be too ill to attend school. Obviously, if your child has an illness and in the past has frequently missed school, this may not apply. However, if your child has never experienced an attendance issue, then this may indicate your child is being bullied.

Being bullied is a frightening and emotionally painful experience for any child. Your child may seem anxious before leaving for school. You may also notice when your child comes home from school he or she may appear sad or depressed. Bullies humiliate and frighten children. They often pick on children in front of groups of other children. This type of behavior negatively affects a child’s self-esteem. If you notice your child is sad quite often or he or she wants to be alone, this may indicated someone is picking on your child.

If your child is normally a good student and you start receiving notices from school regarding poor schoolwork, this may be an indication your child is experiencing some type of emotional trauma. It is difficult for a child to focus on studies if he or she is being bullied.

If you detect any of these signs, address them as soon as possible. Your child may be afraid to talk to you for fear of retaliation by the bully or bullies.

Filed Under: Teens Tagged With:
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