Why Everyone Needs a Phone Basket
Every year we host a “Christmas Cookie and Hot Coco” party for our middle school aged children. It all began because Grandma, a Cambridge Culinary School trained chef, loves to bake dozens upon dozens of extravagant Christmas cookies for the kids to indulge in. Not wanting our kids to eat them all, we invited all […]
Apple iOS 12 Parental Controls: Content & Privacy Restrictions
Apple’s iOS 12 introduced new parental control features called Screen Time, allowing for more granular limits and mindfulness of time spent. Before diving into these Content & Privacy Restrictions you’ll need to first install iOS 12 onto your phone or device. Then set up Screen Time for your child’s account on your phone. In the […]
Apple iOS 12 Parental Controls: Setting up Screen Time
Apple iOS 12 introduced the Screen Time features that can help parents and children with both limits and mindfulness. One new limit is “Downtime”, when a designated amount of apps are unavailable under password protection. Additionally, time limits for specific apps are also possible now. To promoting mindfulness, Screen Time tracks your phone usage – […]
Inside Instagram: What Every Parent Needs to Know [VIDEO]
Back in 2017 we published an article: What Every Parent Needs to Know About the Updated Instagram. To this day, it stands as our most popular article reaching over 550,000 people. Parents are rising up in bravery and making informed decisions about how their children engage online – this is great! In the time since […]
Always Available, Instant Communication is Hurting You: Here’s Five Ways to Change
I once asked a group of young middle school aged girls how they practiced patience with their smartphones. One girl proudly announced that she shows patience as she waits for the iMessage bubble indicating the other person is typing to display her newly received message. For many of us adults, this may be the extent […]
Neglect Your Phone (Not Your Child)
You probably think your teen spends too much time on their phone. A majority of parents (72%) feel this way according to new research.[1] And…over half of teens (52%) AGREE they spend too much time on their smartphone. Your child probably thinks YOU spend too much time on your phone. Over half of teens (51%) […]
Parenting Fail: A Smartphone Will Make You Happy
“If you loved me, you’d want me to be happy!” How many parents throughout the generations have heard their child cry this desperate song? It is a whine as old as time and one that parents have wisely dismissed. But then the smartphone was released. Around 2012, the age of ownership began a steady decline […]
Grandparenting in the Digital Age: What Grandchildren Actually Need (hint: it’s not your smartphone)
Earlier this year, I joined the ranks of the white-haired, wise sages who’ve gone before me: Grandparents. Except, I am neither white-haired nor do I possess the wisdom of a sage. I am a Gen X-er who is barely hanging onto my thirties and still raising six children in my home. Other than my thoughtful […]
10 FORTNITE Facts Every Parent Should Know [VIDEO]
There seems to be some new viral trend captivating our kids every six months. Whether it be a dance move (Whip Nae Nae), toys (fidget spinners), crafts (slime), or apps (Pokemon Go) – kids today love to jump on the bandwagon and ride it all the way to obsession. The current obsession: FORTNITE. Epic Games, […]
Screens and Summer Webinar Recast
Do you long to feel like you have control over the screens in your home? SCREENS & SUMMER will teach you how to reclaim control of the screens and internet! This video isn’t about theoretical parenting. It’s not about having brave conversations with your kids (although those are important). It’s about how to actually safeguard, […]
Can I Have My Own YouTube Channel? 5 Questions to Ask Your Child Before Answering
Back in the early 90’s, I was a freshmen in high school and obsessed with the first reality television show of its kind, MTV’s: The Real World. One night my friend and I borrowed her Dad’s VHS camcorder and filmed our own version of this iconic reality show. Recorded entirely in my friend’s basement, it […]
Home Smartphones: The Better Alternative For Young Children
Remember the days when you stretched out every curl from the tethered phone cord in desperate attempt to talk to your friends away from listening ears? Or maybe you recall arguing with your sibling as they continued to pick up another house phone during your call. These are the sweet and precious memories of home […]
The Growing Trend of “Random Video Chatting”: What Parents Need to Know
Everything online is moving towards video. Perhaps this is due to our plummeting attention spans or our lack of desire to read on a screen. More likely, however, it is because our brains are wired to appreciate and engage with moving, talking, breathing, humans instead of edited selfies. For children spending an increasing amount of […]
5 Reasons Why No Child Needs Snapchat
Everyone parenting in our Snapchat society can probably identify with one of these FOUR places: You are preparing for the adolescent/teen years when your child will ask for Snapchat. Your child has already asked for Snapchat and you are currently debating whether to allow it. You’ve allowed Snapchat, you don’t like it, and you need […]
A Parent’s Guide to Shared Data (Not Just on Facebook)
Facebook has been collecting, using and selling our data. This is the new outrage. After discovering the data abuse of nearly 50 million Facebook profiles for political ends by Cambridge Analytica, the blind trust in the Social Networking giant has ended. News of Facebook’s practice of collecting phone and text data on Android phones added […]
LEGO Life App and The Slow Death of Childhood Play
Late one evening in 1999, I made a late-night Wal-Mart run with some college friends. This trip is only memorable because it was the first time I saw a man ecstatic about buying LEGO sets. His smile spread and his eyes glistened with joy as he found the display of newly released Star Wars LEGO sets. […]
How to Wean Your Child Off Social Media
You said yes to the social media app. So many of your kid’s friends use this app so it seemed like the right thing to do (I’m the only person in the school without it!), but now you regret allowing it. The constant selfies, the never-ending checking, viewing, responding, checking, checking, checking. It’s like they […]
Love is NOT an Unrestricted Smartphone
A recent study by Pew Research Group showed that only 16% of parents use parental controls to restrict their child’s cell or smart phone. To restate this in a more obvious and ominous way: 84% of parents DO NOT USE parental controls to restrict phone usage. As a parent in the 16% I assume this […]
How To Deactivate/Delete Social Media Accounts
Just recently, it was reported as “news” that the soon-to-be-wife of Prince Harry deleted her social media accounts. This is a woman who understands there is a time and place for a social media platform and that, ultimately, these accounts are not near as important as personal relationships. You don’t have to be marrying into […]
What Every Parent Needs to Learn from Recent SWATting Tragedy
In late December 2017, a news story out of Wichita, Kansas brought a growing issue into full light: SWATting. While this may seem like an issue for large cities or a crime-riddled subculture not affecting the average family, there are valuable lessons every parent and child can learn from this story. “SWATting” SWATting refers to […]
The Doctor That Helps You Recover Deleted Data
If you have a child with a smartphone, then you need this Doctor. In the teenage subculture where sexting and nudes are now “first base,” wouldn’t you want to know if your son or daughter was partaking? In their world, where vicious words and unkind accusations flow fast and free from their fingertips, wouldn’t you […]