YOLO: What Parents Need to Know About the Anonymity App Kids Use with Snapchat
If your kids use Snapchat, chances are they also use the popular new app YOLO along with it. Since it’s debut in May YOLO has been downloaded over 5 million times, and kids absolutely love it. Whether or not parents love it, however, remains to be seen. But before rendering ...
Teen Texting Slang (and Emojis) Parents Should Know
What adults call texting, kids call talking. They “talk” on their phones via chat, social comments, snaps, posts, tweets, and direct messages. And they are talking most of the time — tap, tap, tap — much like background music. In all this “talking” a language, or code, emerges just as it has ...
What Parents Need to Know About Live-Stream Gaming Sites Like Twitch
Clash of Clans, Runescape, Fortnite, League of Legends, Battlefield V, and Dota 2. While these titles may not mean much to those outside of the video gaming world, they are just a few of the wildly popular games thousands of players are live streaming to viewers worldwide this very minute. ...
Tech Talk: Ways to Help Your Child Conquer Back-To-School Fears
The first-day-of-school jitters nearly did me in as a kid. Our military family moved ten times, so I got used to the stomach aches and stares that came with every new school. I can’t imagine making those big moves as a kid in today’s digital culture. The cliques are far more ...
Study: Digital Self-Harm Among Teens Real; Here’s What Parents Need to Know
When we think of self-harm, most of us think about rituals such as cutting in which a person may physically cut themselves in an attempt to deal with overwhelming emotions. Very few of us, especially parents, think about self-harm manifesting itself in the digital realm. However, according to a new study ...
Group Chat Etiquette: 10 Tips to Help Your Family Navigate the Digital Chatter
Technology is touching and transforming nearly every area of our lives, especially our relationships. The group chat, for instance, is replacing face-to-face conversations. With that digital shift, comes unspoken etiquette, safety considerations, and a level of responsibility that can easily get lost in the chatter. Group chats are efficient and ...
2018 Texting Slang Update: How to Decode What Your Teen is Saying Online
Every year we update our teen slang and this year we’ve added a handful of terms that may make your jaw drop. Slang is an integral part of growing up. A word or abbreviation can add significant meaning or emotion to a message or text. Slang helps kids define their ...
Risky Apps, Jail Time for Parents of Bullies, and More Family Safety News
If you haven’t been able to skim the family safety headlines lately — no worries. We’ve plucked a few stories from the top of the family safety heap for you. Talk about them around the dinner table tonight, continue monitoring smartphone apps, and most importantly, keep the relationship and communication ...
October is Bullying Prevention Month. Are You Willing to Do Just One Thing?
Life is busy. Events, celebrations, and deadlines fight for space on the family calendar. It’s so easy to zoom through October, which also happens to be Bullying Prevention Month. But please don’t. Because your child needs you to know a few things and chances are, he or she is not ...
