Ways to Strengthen Your Family’s Digital and Mental Wellbeing
There’s a lot that feels out of control right now. City and school re-openings are in limbo, and life for many still feels upended. But one thing we can control is our efforts to safeguard our family’s digital and mental health. Both adults and kids use television, tablets, and smartphones ...
Parents: You May Want to Pay Closer Attention to the TikTok App
You aren’t imagining things. Everyone is talking about the popular video-sharing app TikTok. That’s because it has simultaneously become both a source of entertainment for kids as well as a source of concern for some adults. The social network, owned by Chinese parent company ByteDance, recently reached 750 million downloads, ...
Clicks & Cliques: How to Help Your Daughter Deal with Mean Girls Online
According to a new report released by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), mean girls are out in force online. Data shows that girls report three times as much harassment online (21%) as boys (less than 7%). While the new data does not specify the gender of the aggressors, experts ...
Study: Fortnite Game Becoming the Preferred Social Network for Kids
According to a study recently released by National Research Group (NRG), the wildly popular video game Fortnite is growing beyond its intended gaming platform into a favored social network where kids go daily to chat, message, and connect. The study represents the most in-depth study on Fortnite to date and contains ...
Are Your Kids Part of the TikTok App Craze? Here’s What Parents Need to Know
What phone app has over 150 million active users and more than 14 million uploads every day? You might guess Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat, but you’d be wrong. Meet TikTok — a video app kids are flocking to that is tons of fun but also carries risk. What Is It? ...
First Smartphone: Are You Putting Cyberbullies Under the Tree This Year?
There’s pressure — lots of pressure. And not the typical I-want-a-bike or a doll-that-poops kind of pressure your kids may have foisted upon you just a few Christmases ago. No, this is the big leagues. Your child wants his or her first smartphone to show up under the tree this year. ...
Has Your Phone Become Your Third Child? Ways to Get Screen Time Anxiety Under Control
You aren’t going to like this post. However, you will, hopefully, find yourself nodding and perhaps, even making some changes because of it. Here it friends: That love-hate relationship you have with your smartphone may need some serious attention — not tomorrow or next week — but now. I’m lecturing ...
Family Matters: How to Help Kids Avoid Cyberbullies this Summer
The summer months can be tough on kids. There’s more time during the day and much of that extra time gets spent online scrolling, surfing, liking, and snap chatting with peers. Unfortunately, with more time, comes more opportunity for interactions between peers to become strained even to the point of bullying. ...
3 Ways to Strengthen Your Family Bond this Summer (Without Ditching Your Devices)
My parents recently went through a health crisis that required me to travel to be with them for several weeks. During that time, I started using FaceTime on my iPhone to daily connect with my teenage daughter back home. Until this life event, I wasn’t one to video chat. However, ...
