Protecting Your Children - Social Media

Protecting Your Children - Social Media

The boom in social media has led to the subsequent misuse of innocent social tools by predators and bullies. As a result there is a chance, albeit small that your teenagers photos will fall into the wrong hands.

Of course, you cannot protect them from everything and they will be exposed to things that we would rather they weren’t. The best approach is to teach your children the importance of being safe online. They get driving lessons to protect them on the road; they learn fire safety to keep from getting burned. Teach them Internet safety to protect their future.  Provide Them the Tools
The best thing you can do is provide them the tools to deal with it and let them know the best way that they can protect themselves.

Pseudonyms:

Work with your teen to come up with a good screen name. Pick one that can be identifiable as them and is as unique as they are. Ensure that it’s not a screen name that will haunt their future, many of us still use the same screen names we created twenty years ago, and those names have become as identifiable with us as our given names. They don’t need to put their real information out there.

Privacy Settings:

Ensure that your teens profile and photos aren’t out there for everyone to look at. If their profile isn’t on private then switch it over. This will ensure that only approved friends will see the photos.

Location Settings:

Turn off the Geo-tagging or Location of photos, that way even if a photo gets out to the public, hopefully no one knows where your child is.

Accepting Followers:

If they don’t know who the person is in real life, then they probably shouldn’t accept them as a follower.

Avoid Portraits:

Teens are a vain lot, but try to discourage them from posting photos of themselves or their friends. It there aren’t photos out there, then they can’t slip out.

Talk:

Continue to talk to your children about what they are posting and what they are allowed to post. Encourage them to talk to their friends about appropriate posting and their own privacy settings. Your teen may do everything correctly, but all it takes is a careless friend and that beach photo could end up public.

　

     A Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada Program

Do you feel concerned about your teen? Do you feel unsure at times on how to support your teen? Do you worry about your teen’s choices?

We Understand

Shuswap Family Resource and Referral Society

250-832-2170 ext. 206

Wednesdays, 6:30-8:30PM

^{Parents Together was developed by staff and parents throughout BC and is administered under the auspices of Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada - Pacific Region.}

Funding is generously provided by the Ministry of Children and Family Development.

Mindshift app-Your portable coach

Mindshift is an app designed to help teens and young adults cope with anxiety. It can help you change how you think about anxiety. Make a shift and face it.  Mindshift app is the work of a joint collaboration between anxietybc and BC Mental health.
Download it for free. It is really innovative. I have it on my hand held device and plan to introduce it to my students and parents.

Empowering Parents - Sexual Health, Relationships and your child.

I feel it is important to start by saying that I am not an expert on youth sexual health education, relationships or family life.   I am however a parent of a teenager and a school counsellor with 30 years of experience and an adult who cares about our youth.

Sexual health education is a very important topic.  In talking with our retired Family Life Teacher, she helped me to understand that much of what our youth are seeing on-line and in the media is scaring them and that many youth are terrified by the negative portrayal of sexual health and relationships.   I also spent some time talking with Merlin Horton, the Executive Director of the Safe On-line Outreach Society and her comment: If you don't talk to your kids about sex, there is someone on the web who will! 

I feel strongly that our youth, our children, need a safe trusting adult to talk to about sexual health and relationships.  They just want someone who will answer those questions that they have.  As the parent, we are still the ultimate source of wisdom for our children. 

Relationships and sexual health in the 21st century are different as a result of social media, television and the world wide web.

I am urging ALL PARENTS, CAREGIVERS AND GUARDIANS to take a strong stand in educating their child about sexual health and relationships...and continue to be the wisdom.

If you feel you would like or need some help with this topic,  have a look to the right of this post.  I have linked a few resources that might be helpful! 

There is also a really good youtube series called "Give It A Ponder" that might be a good springboard for you to having conversation with your child about being careful on what they send in a text message. This series by James Lipton Beard uses humour.  Check it out! 

Thank you for visiting my blog. 

OCTOBER is Bully Awareness Month

Tomorrow is October 1st. October is BULLY Awareness Month.
Thank you to all that respect, care for others, thoughful of themself, honour difference, celebrate diversity, and are kind.  Thank you to those that take a stand and make a difference.

Social Flex Music Club

Through music and play in a group, children can become confident by learning to see the clues of others and improve their own comunication.  The Social Flex Music Club is a small group that is well suited to children with: social anxiety, social learning challenges, Autism, Asperger's, ADHD and more.  This fun and innovative program is facilited by Roxy Roth, Music Therapist and Friday Bailey, Behaviour Interventionist.  See link to the right for the RoxyFx website. 

Moving Right Along!

Can you believe that it is almost the end of September!! I have to say that it has been a fantastic start.  It was nice to see so many families attend our BBQ last week. 

Parents Together program for parents of teens (or soon to be teens). This program is offered through the Shuswap Family Resource Centre for parents of teens who feel challenged in their parenting, want to increase their parenting knowledge, and/or feel that they need extra support in their parenting. We are offering two exciting opportunities for parents this fall: 

1. We will be holding five weekly drop-in education and group support sessions on Wednesdays, September 11, 18, 25 and October 2 and 9 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. at Shuswap Middle School in the counselling centre (come in the front doors and turn left). Typically this is a very supportive group of 5  or 6 parents that is lead by two trained facilitators (Nanika Albricht, parent/teen counsellor at the Downtown Activity Centre, and myself, Susie Steves BSW). DROP INS ARE WELCOME. A parent information sheet for the drop-in program is attached. This is an ongoing program and will continue at the Family Centre after the workshop (below) is over. For more information call Susie 250-833-6406.

2. We are organizing an 8 week Parents Together Workshop to be held on eight consecutive Tuesdays starting October 15, 2013 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at Shuswap Middle School. The Parents Together Workshop is a 16 hour educational program for parents of teens (or soon to be teens) who would like to begin to explore their parenting and the challenges that arise while parenting a teen. A weekly outline is provided on the attached workshop information sheet. Parents must register through the Family Centre (250-832-2170) or by calling Susie (250-833-6406). Maximum of 12 participants.