Begin a discussion about cell phones by:

• Asking your [children] what they already know about cell phone safety. Get a baseline for what they have knowledge of, what they hear about or see at school.
• [In age-appropriate ways], ask them what their feelings and opinions are about cyber-bullying, harassment to send provocative photos  [sexting is more common than we might want to think; be sure to be educated about the facts (including the fact that it can put your child in legal jeopardy to participate in sexting) and get educated about apps like Snapchat, especially if you have a teenager], and being contacted by people they don’t know. Let your child tell you what they do when they perceive something is dangerous or bad. Once you have a feel for where they stand, remind them how much you care about them and want to make sure that they are safe from any potential problems.
• Explain how you feel about cell phones and what your family wants to use them for (staying connected as a family, for use in emergencies, family support, and using technology to encourage dialogue, not replace it).
• Negotiate with your children what is an acceptable amount of time and money spent on mobile phones. Let your child know you will be monitoring your cell phone bill for acceptable use. The goal is to establish healthy media habits.
• Time spent on mobile phones, while useful and fun, is time not spent focusing on other important activities, such as studying, working, and improving mental and physical health.
• Discuss with them about the apps kids choose to download in order to help them learn to choose wisely. The apps should not violate your family’s personal media standards. Tell them you will be checking ratings for music, games, or app purchases.
• Let them know that you have investigated several programs that keep dangerous people from contacting teens on the phone, indecent websites from being accessed, and help filter any harmful material or websites. [And have conversations about how any information shared through technology needs to be assumed to not be private.] [Help your child understand that] there are people, even friends, who could try to do damage to their reputations [or who may inadvertently cause harm by sharing information when they shouldn’t]. Let them know that the reason you have decided to install different safety controls on their phone, or monitor periodically their cell phone usage is to continue fulfilling your obligation as their parent to keep them safe.

If you are an LDS parent, I would also add that one way to discourage unhealthy use of technology is to remind your children of why God has given us technology in the first place. All the other content in this post is more secular/non-denominational in nature but I firmly believe that when children are raised to consecrate some of their tech time to truly worthy causes, it can help keep the purpose of technology in perspective. See, for example, Elder Bednar’s warnings (video and full talk) and also his invitation to youth.

Here are a few videos that explore how to talk about cell phone use with children; how to draw boundaries about cell phone use; and parental controls that are available on the iPhone. There is also a video that can help parents know some tips for talking about hard things (like finding pornography on a cell phone or computer).

(Jeff Ford’s Five Cs are also very helpful…also found on the same YouTube channel or on our Pinterest page.)

The post Talking to kids about smart cell phone and technology use appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

In this episode, “Parenting in the Tech Age,” host Elisa Scharton talks with Richard and Linda Eyre and Craig and Ken and Katie Craig about helping children draw boundaries with technology, avoiding entitlement, being aware of how technology changes communication (and how sometimes it shouldn’t!), teaching children to find the good.

The post Parenting in the Tech Age — Mormon Channel episode appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

(See more resources and links on our Pinterest board, Teaching Children about Sexuality and Pornography)

SecureMama recently did a booth at BYU Women’s Conference where she discussed a variety of ways we can be informed and help our children (and other children we care about) stay safe.

We should Care!

Online Rule of Agreement

Who is in the driver seat? User restrictions

Keep that baby gate up! Parental controls

Web filter – Keep the garbage out!

Does my computer have a cold? – Anti-Virus, Anti-spyware

Is your foundation Secure? – Operating System and Application Updates

iPhone iTouch Security for Teenagers

What are my kids talking about? – Cell phone Controls

Don’t talk to Strangers! – Safe Web Surfing

Where are my kids? – Social Networking

Keeping Kids Safe on YouTube

The post Keeping Our Children Safe Online (part 2) appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

I’ve been thrilled to find some great resources for parents who are concerned about helping keep their kids safe online and with internet-enabled devices. Look for more posts this week on this topic.

(See more resources and links on our Pinterest board, Teaching Children about Sexuality and Pornography)

Today, we’re featuring Women for Decency, which has a lot of great resources on their website about how to keep children safe at home and at school. They also have community action ideas. Here are a few examples of their resources for helping keep children safe:

One-minute conversation starters

What to teach children (about pornography, how to share your values, etc.)

Having conversations with children about pornography, sex (and helping them separate the two!)

Family Media Guidelines

“It Only Takes a Minute” — simple things you can do to safeguard your home

Promoting decency and media literacy

Tips for dealing with cyberbullying

I’ve Got the Power – brochure for elementary-aged students (consider sharing this with your school officials for an official White Ribbon Against Pornography week, and use in your home as well)

Do you know of some good resources for promoting internet safety, talking to children about pornography and cyberbullying, etc.?

The post Keeping Our Children Safe Online (part 1) appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.