Internet Safety - Creating a Safe Screen Name

We must start young teaching kids how to be safe online.  

Children are starting to use the Internet at a younger age to play games.  Many of these games require that the parent set up a screen name for their child.  Parents will often use their child’s name and simple words that kids can remember and spell when they set up their child's screen name.  

Not a good idea!  This often leads to a very insecure username that can identify their child to strangers. The number one danger we want to teach kids to avoid.

Screen Name creates the online identity of the child.  Often parents emphasize the importance of coming up with a strong password. This is the OPPOSITE of what we need to focus on with our kids. Passwords can be recovered, and passwords can be changed very easily. It is your child's screen name or user ID that needs to be protected. Especially for children who use these screen names in their games and as their online persona. 

The goal is to give kids a step by step plan for coming up with a unique screen name that they can easily remember.  Just as important is to teach your child never to share the screen name..

Kids across the country enrolled in Discovery Kids Puterbugs Program are learning how to be safe using technology.   Creating a safe screen name is just one of many lessons they will be learning

Standardized Testing

It's that time of  year again... 

Kids are spending precious school hours prepping for those dreadful standardized tests.  Parents are anxiously waiting for the results.  When I was a mom with school age children, I know centuries ago, we didn't have facebook, twitter... but we did have phones.  As soon as we would receive the results, our phone would start ringing.  Anxious moms would ask me how my daughters did.  Their child either did horribly or was a genius--all based on that one test.  My response was always the same, year after year.  "My girls did exactly how I expected."   Period.

My girls never even knew their test scores.  I would take the results of the test, glance at them, and put them in a drawer.  Really! One test and your child is a genius, the smartest kid in the school? Or the dumbest?  It's only ONE TEST!  I can tell you now, one of my girls did horribly on the math section of a standardized test.   Had I told her or even mentioned it to anyone, or had she overheard me, she may have believed she wasn't good in math.  She was so quick in math!  There was no way that test was a reflection of what she knew.  Kids believe what others say about them.  Think about it: A standardized test is only one small snapshot of your child.  Your child may have had a bad day, or skipped one of those silly little boxes which then screwed up all the answers.

My advice:   Don't make a big deal when your child takes standardized tests, and especially do NOT post or discuss your child's scores on social media sites.   If your child is doing well all year, then expect he/she will have good results on the tests.  If your child has been struggling, then the teacher and you should have had a plan of action way before the standardized testing.  Tell your child like I did when you get the results.  "You did exactly how I expected and I'm proud of you for trying so hard!"  Then, move on... There's so much more to really learn!

Time's Up! Preventing Tech Tantrums

Parents often ask me how to limit their child's time on the computer. They usually wish to avoid "tech tantrums"--frustration and meltdowns--when they tell their child, "Time's up!"

What's the goal?
One of the most important things I stress to them is to fully understand what their child is trying to achieve, whether it is on a website, software, video game, or app. Is he or she creating something? Or trying to beat levels of a game? Attempting to finish a puzzle? Or just randomly surfing from one thing to another?

If you set a timer, or give a child an "end time", they might get frustrated if they haven't completed what they set out to do. Instead, understand your child's goal and set an approximate end time based on that goal. If the goal is too ambitious and could take much longer than you want, then help your child reset this goal to something that can be achieved in the time frame you prefer. Communicate, set expectations, and don't just say "Time's UP!" When time is ALMOST up, check in with your child and see what they have accomplished, and then you can transition to something else--without the tears!