Do you allow your kids to send text messages from their cell phone? Or do worries of bullying and other safety issues have you block that service from their cell phone? Debbe Geiger, mother to a 14 and 11 year old, writes an impassioned piece for the New York Times about why she and her husband do not allow their children to send text messages.
When the phone bill listed more than 3,000 texts in one month, we told her it was time to chill out. Granted, we had unlimited messaging so it wasn’t costing us any more. But does that make it O.K. to send an average of 100 messages a day via text? What could she possibly say in those sentence fragments and abbreviations that was so crucial? And what exactly was she talking about?
As it turned out, it was what other people were saying to her that began to concern me more. That’s when I learned about the mean-girl texts, the ones no one would have the nerve to say to a person’s face but are easy to send from one nonconfrontational phone to another. “We all hate you,” I saw on the tiny black screen one night when I picked her up from religion class. First it tore my heart out. Then I got annoyed. Why was she texting during religion class?
Just like many children out there, yours probably have some sort of gaming console. But what kind of games are appropriate for your child’s age level? There are many child safety concerns when it comes to video games, and PCmag.com gives us a great handy list to check and make sure the rating on the back of the latest game matches what is appropriate for your child.
-Early Childhood ("EC"): Ages 3 and older
-Everyone ("E"): Ages 6 and older
-Everyone 10 Plus ("E10+"): Ages 10 and older
-Teen ("T"): Ages 13 and older
-Mature ("M"): Ages 17 and older
-Adults Only (Adults Only): Ages 18 and older only
Is your child fully prepared to know what to do should they go missing or taken? Many parents find it hard to talk about this with their children since it is such a tough subject to even think of. Indiana company KinderVision aims to help your children learn about safety for themselves should the inevitable happen to them.
KinderVision is working to provide parents and children with the tools to help keep their child from becoming the next victim. "It’s really the only solution we have in protecting our children," said Sebastian.
That was why six-year-old Jadarious and his younger brother got in front of the camera lens and were recorded onto a copy of the KinderVision D-V-D. "It’s really to get them to watching the DVD and watching it over and over again. We put them on their, they watch it, and learn the information, said co-founder, Nancy Sebastian.
The 14-minute long program teaches children what they should do if they are in a risky situation. "They should never go to a public bathroom alone. They should never go with a stranger to help him find something. Even if they offer money," said Sebastian.
As spring break approaches for many high school students across the country, many parents worry about their child’s safety as they travel to various destinations to spend their break with friends. Law enforcement encourages parents to keep a close eye on their children at this time of year, not only as the break approaches but as the weather improves and children spend more time outside.
According to Officer Jeff Hopson of the Nacogdoches Police Department, they see a lot of criminal mischief during this time of the year. "We have the bb guns, and paint balls and so forth. Just keep an eye on their kids. Be careful, watch them. Don’t let them stay out late. If they have a lot of idle time, they’ll be on the roads and young inexperienced drivers can get hurt and cause a problem".
And while you may not be able to be with your kid 24/7, local parents advise from experience.
You have got to always call and make sure they’re where they’re supposed to be and make sure somebody responsible is with them" advises Scott Smith, a Lufkin Parent.
If you are a MySpace user, they have no implemented a new application to keep track of Amber Alerts. The application can be added to users’ profiles to help spread the word of Amber Alerts across the country.
You simply install the Amber Alert application like any other Myspace application. Once installed an Amber Alert box will appear on your profile displaying any current alerts, or if there are none, the text "There are no active alerts" will appear.
This system covers Amber Alerts for both the United States and Canada.