Social Networking and Internet Safety Information for Parents

Online Gaming Safety Information for Parents

First and foremost, it’s important to understand that, one, there are safety controls available on gaming consoles like the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, and two, that there are a number of other safety precautions that both you and your child can take to help protect their safety and privacy on said consoles—most of which are mentioned in the article below. However, whenever I talk to parents about online gaming, I do my best to remind them that just because their child wants/has a gaming console that’s capable of online play, does not mean they have to use the online gaming service that comes with it, be it Xbox Live or Playstation Network. We don’t use the online service in our home.

These services are here when your child is mature enough to responsibly use it, but as long as they live in your house and you’re paying for that service, that’s a decision for you to make.

Safety Tips for Social Networking

Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have become extremely popular in recent years. They’re a great way to keep family and friends updated on your life and connect with colleagues and communities that share your interests. You can use social networks to build a positive online reputation. The first step is STOP. THINK. CONNECT.

Stickam – A Very Dangerous Site for Kids

I’ve written and talked at length about the challenges that webcams create for parents, as well as the safety and privacy risks that they can create for our children. You may have heard of some of the more headline-grabbing sites, like TinyChat and Chatroulette, but have you heard of Stickam?

Like the former two, Stickam allows their members to anonymously video chat with each other. And if you’re not a member, well, you can just simply watch. Thinking about blocking Stickam on your child's computer? I don’t blame you.

Video-chatting is performed in one of two ways: by creating/joining a chatroom group where multiple people simultaneously stream their webcam feed, or by “Going Live” and launching a video-chat room where you’re the center of attention as random users watch your live webcam feed. Interestingly enough, there are “live sex” porn sites that use this exact same functionality.

Screen Retriever Review and Installation Guide

As a parent, I always want to know where my children are, who they’re hanging out with, and what they’re doing. I like to try and give them a balance between freedom and safety, let them grow and mature yet still make sure they don’t do anything that has the potential to harm them.

This idea perfectly describes the purpose behind ScreenRetriever, a monitoring program that allows parents to record and remotely view their children's computer screen in real time. The program lets you “check-in” on your children from time to time without having to be right over their shoulder.

The Value Social Networking Provides Our Children

Five Reasons Why You Should Encourage Your Child to Be Online

Yes, you read that right: encourage your kids to be online and join a social network! As a mom of five, I know how busy our children’s lives can be between school, homework, after-school activities and friends. So you might wonder “when” I’d suggest your child would have time to be online.

Well, that time is any time your child has screen time available to them. Whether it’s the TV, the Xbox, computer, or “iDevice”, these are the screen-time opportunities you should seize to introduce your child to something that will inevitably be a part of their lives: social networking. All the more reason to take an involved and proactive approach so that you can help ensure your child has a healthy, positive, age-appropriate and safe experience.

Cyberbullying and Online Gaming: How to Protect Your Child

First let me say that, just as I am not OK with it offline, I am not okay with the idea of my children talking to strangers online. But that's exactly what happens in online gaming services like Xbox Live and Playstation Network. As soon as your child logs on to their profile or joins an online multiplayer game, they are able to communicate and compete with random people from all over the world.

In addition to the replay value that it adds to video games and the digital content it provides, this ability alone is what makes services like Xbox Live attractive. It’s just a shame that most people who use it will encounter some of the worst cyberbullying you can imagine, and in some cases, online predation.

Five Internet-Safety Resolutions for the New Year

When the New Year comes around we make resolutions to lose weight, spend more time with friends and family, or simply get more organized. These resolutions, however, have the tendency to fall off soon after we start as they require a huge time investment and sometimes a change in lifestyle.

A desire to be safer or more private online doesn’t have to be another New Year’s resolution “failure”, though. In fact, most of the concerns you have for your own online privacy and your child’s online privacy in 2012 can be resolved by taking advantage of a few simple tools and learning how to use them.

Below are five simple things you can do this year to give your family a safer Internet experience.

A Step-by-Step Guide To Making Sure Your Child’s Holiday Technology Gifts Are Safety-Enabled And Family-Friendly Ready

If you plan on buying your child one of the many fun and engaging technology gifts available this holiday season, know that there are a few simple things you can do to make sure their gifts are family-friendly ready and safety-enabled.

Here are some things you’ll need to consider before buying, and what you’ll need to do after buying in order to make sure their gifts are safety-enabled: