Friday, October 25, 2013

A Reminder: Online Activity Has Real Consequences

"Assistant Nassau County District Attorney Jeremy Glicksman said Tuesday that the best way to prevent online bullying is for parents to teach their children that activity on social networks have real-world ramifications."

This article, which appeared recently in The Island Now (Long Island, NY), summarized Glicksman's remarks in his presentation titled "STOP Then Send." It is worth reading as a reminder of how we should behave online and the consequences of not being a good digital citizen when using the internet. 

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Touch Screens and the Little Ones: Pros and Cons

Are you worried that your young child, aka "toddler," will either be harmed by too much screen time or that your child will fall behind his or her peers by not learning how to use these new devices? Not to worry! I have run across several sources of wisdom on the subject that should calm your fears.

Stephanie Hanes, writing for The Christian Science Monitor, has put together three articles that point to reasons for concern as well as reasons for encouragement when it comes to deciding whether or not to let our young children spend time on touch screen devices. "After all," as she put it, "Steve Jobs didn't grow up with an iPad."

For help with making your screen time decisions check out these articles.

Toddlers on touch screens: parenting the 'app generation'

Digital Literacy: How soon should kids learn to use touch screens?

The case for boredom: When a crayon is better than an iPad