How Parents Can Promote Ethical Online Behaviours with Kids

Submitted by Matthew Johnson on 04 Oct 2013.

We generally think of our kids’ online and offline lives as being two separate things. In reality, they constantly overlap, flowing back and forth face-to-face in the schoolyard and through texts and social networks at home. But on the Internet there are lots of moral and ethical choices that don’t have to be made offline.

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Authenticating Information, Cyber Security, Digital Citizenship, Parents

Helping kids authenticate information online

Submitted by Andrea Tomkins on 30 Aug 2013.

“A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.”

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Authenticating Information, Parents

Whac-A-Mole: Keeping up with your kids’ apps and websites

Submitted by Andrea Tomkins on 15 Aug 2013.

I’ve already written about YouTube and Instagram, but today I wanted to share some information about four other popular sites and apps that are on my radar right now: Snapchat, Vine, Tumblr and ask.fm.

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Internet & Mobile, Parents, Social Networking

Something to think about during your next family movie night!

Submitted by Andrea Tomkins on 15 Jul 2013.

My last post here was about balancing screen time over the summer months. This is something I’ve been giving a lot of thought, and I can summarize my feelings on the matter this way: my personal aim is to decrease the amount of time that my kids consume utter dreck**, and balance other free time with good quality viewing that we can enjoy as a family.

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Movies, Parents

Balancing your family’s media consumption over the summer

Submitted by Andrea Tomkins on 03 Jul 2013.

Summer can feel very long sometimes. Heck, I’ve been there. I clearly remember the days when the kids seemed crazier than a pack of wild squirrels, leaving piles of household detritus in their wake while I followed them helplessly, longing for a hot cup of coffee and five minutes in the bathroom without someone knocking on the door.

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Excessive Internet Use, Parents

What parents need to know about YouTube

Submitted by Andrea Tomkins on 18 Jun 2013.

YouTube is a window into a world of wonder. There is so much great material to be found there, whether it’s for education, entertainment, or inspiration.  But there’s also a lot of inappropriate stuff in amongst the cat videos and Kid President. Question is, how do we, as parents, help our kids safely navigate YouTube?

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Internet & Mobile, Parents

LOLs and OMGs: texting, sexting, and kids

Submitted by Andrea Tomkins on 03 Jun 2013.

Our kids are coming of age at a time that things like online shopping, Facetime, and texting are all normal everyday occurrences. Technology is enabling people to do some pretty amazing things, and even communicate in a whole new way using a new language. You may know this as texting.

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Cell Phones and Texting, Parents, Sexual Exploitation

Surviving Screen-free Week

Submitted by Andrea Tomkins on 26 Apr 2013.

Once upon a time Screen-Free Week used to be known as TV Turnoff and Digital Detox Week. Participating in TV Turnoff was a bit easier when my daughters were younger because laptops, tablets and iPhones weren’t nearly as pervasive as they are today.

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Parents

Taming copycats

Submitted by Andrea Tomkins on 15 Apr 2013.

The issue of copyright is one that many of us probably know a little bit about.  Copying is stealing – and stealing is bad - but it can still be a grey area in a social media world which is very PRO sharing.

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Intellectual Property, Internet & Mobile, Parents

Facing the Music

Submitted by Andrea Tomkins on 02 Apr 2013.

I feel like such an old lady when I’m listening to the radio sometimes. When I’m in the car with my husband we often find ourselves having the I Can’t Believe What Kids Are Listening to These Days conversation, one that often ends with me hitting the OFF button in disgust.

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Music, Parents, Resources

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