Detroit Families: Cyber Parenting
*Content provided by our sponsor, the Michigan Education Savings Plan.
By Sharlonda Buckman
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Kik, and Snapchat— these are the apps holding our kids attention in 2016. Do you often see your son / daughter glued to their phone and say, "not at the dinner table"?
It's important that we all detach from our social networks and online presence at some point, so that we can focus more on our education, seeing our friends and family, and resetting our household and less on updating our facebook status.
Detroit Parent Network's Family Engagement Conference on March 19th, 2016 at the Michigan Science Center from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. will feature, 'Cyber Parenting' a discussion on internet safety, cyber bullying, and helping your child know what's Okay 2 Say (a Michigan Department of Attorney General's office initiative) on the internet. Here are a few internet safety tips to get you and your kids started:
- Explain to your child they should never give out identifying information to people they do not know (name, address, phone number, etc.)
- Keep the computer in the family room or another open area of your home and be aware of other devices your kids are using.
- Become familiar with blocking and monitoring programs.
- Tell your children never to respond to messages that are suggestive, obscene, belligerent, threatening, or make them feel uncomfortable
- Discuss with your child the importance of telling a trusted adult about anything that makes them feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused, while online.
