Teach empathy: put down the phone
Your children are watching, teach them kindness and compassion.
read more3 ways to manage summer screen time
Summer is here, which means screen time battles. Here are three things to do right now to save your sanity.
read moreHow handling rejection helps avoid sexting
Rejection is a common motivator in teen sexting cases. Here’s how to avoid it.
read moreThe Perfect (Tech-free) Father’s Day Gift
Give Dad a tech-free day for Father’s Day
read moreScreen addiction or social awkwardness?
If your kid is turning down friends’ invitations and instead choosing video games, it could be because they feel socially awkward.
read moreHow to teach kids about trust
We must teach kids how to assess for trustworthiness, so they are less likely to fall prey to online grooming.
read moreHow to talk about consent
Kids need to understand consent and being the boss of their own body, and it should start when they’re young.
read moreKids are meeting up with online friends
I work with kids for a living and even I found this statistic mind-blowing. According to Pew Research, of those kids who met friends online, one-third followed up with an in-person meeting. Kids are communicating and meeting on social media and while...
read moreHow Your IP Address Can Get You in Trouble
Everything you—or your children—do online can be traced back to you. Imagine there is a knock on your door, and you are greeted by local law enforcement. The officers notify you that they are investigating a child pornography case and you are the main...
read moreParenting Hack: Simple Trick to Limit App Use
Would you like for your child to have to ask to use an app? If you’re using Apple’s Screen Time, use the App Limits function to keep the app turned off until you grant permission. There are two ways to do it. 1) In the App Limits setting in Screen Time,...
read moreCatfishing: What Parents Need to Know
Mary* was beaming while telling me about her new relationship. She told me how much Bob* “got her,” and that they had so much in common, and would spend all night talking over text. When I asked where they met, she was vague and “thought” they met at a...
read moreHold the Lecture: Get Kids to Talk
When working with kids in my therapy practice, these are common statements I hear from those who don’t feel heard: my parents think they know everything my parents don’t get it my parents don’t understand what it's like to be a kid Create a safe space for...
read moreHow to connect with your kid (Hint: go on dates!)
I run groups for kids who have been caught sexting. On the first day of group, parents are clued into the dangers of technology and given advice on how to lock everything down to ensure it doesn’t happen again. I recommend monitoring devices and...
read moreTalking Points: Discussing Porn with Your Daughter
Tap, tap, tap. Is this mic on… ATTENTION PARENTS OF GIRLS: In this age of technology and instant access to pornography, ignoring your daughter's sexual development is a recipe for disaster. Because parents aren’t talking about it, unfortunately, kids turn...
read moreHow to Talk with Your Teen about Porn
Helping your Child Deconstruct the Messages in Porn I recently had a conversation with a friend who reads our blog. Her son is about to turn 18 and will be off to college in the Fall. She’s a single parent and they have a pretty open relationship. She’s...
read moreKids Are Watching Porn
Kids are watching porn, and it has devastating impact. Here’s what you can do about it.
read moreThe Screen Time Battle
I’m not a parenting expert. I’m just a mom to two boys who has worked in social media for many years and knows the ins and outs of technology. One who saw a problem and wanted to help fix it. That problem is technology taking over our kids’ lives. And...
read moreIs it a Happy Holiday?
I experienced a significant negative event this year which was a culmination of several events. Only my immediate family and close friends are aware. The majority of my 490 friends on social media have no idea because my page has no indication of anything....
read moreSocial Media Etiquette 101
Have you ever: Had that one friend who you’re afraid to take a picture with because they post anything on social media as long as *they* look good and have absolutely no regard for how other people might look in the photo? Stood in line at a store and...
read moreTechnology and Emotional Intelligence
Lately I’ve noticed how many people (including myself) have a tendency to be on their phone when alone in public. Whether waiting in line at the grocery store, in an elevator, or taking a train, it has become a habit. Instead of looking around, people...
read moreSetting Tech Limits (when you didn’t before)
During our last webinar, someone asked about back tracking and placing restrictions on their child’s technology when they had not previously. Maybe you dread the thought of having this battle with your child. Here are a few statistics that might give you a...
read moreHow Well Do You Know YouTube?
I love YouTube. I'm a big fan of the app. I love that when I needed to replace a headlight on my 8 year-old car that there was a man in the middle of Minnesota to guide me through the process step-by-step. Unfortunately, YouTube isn’t all DIY instructional...
read moreWhat To Do About Mean Girls
Imagine the embarrassment of sending a naked picture to someone you care about because you thought he liked you, only to find out he shared it with the guys on the football team. You’re already horrified and embarrassed to walk down the hall at school...
read more5 Things You Must Do If You Have a Kid on Social Media
Either your kid already has a smartphone and you feel overwhelmed trying to manage his social media, or you’re thinking of getting her first smartphone. Here are the five things you need to do right now, before things go sideways. TALK This is number one...
read moreYour Child was Sexting! Now What?!
If you allow your child unsupervised access to a device you must talk to them about sexting, because chances are they will come across inappropriate content. In my sexting classes, I’ve had kids who were sexting at 9 years old. They were reenacting what...
read moreCo-Parenting in the Age of Technology
Creating technology guidelines that work for everyone involved can help kids get through a divorce with fewer negative aftereffects.
read moreTake a Technology Holiday
On the first night of my sexting group the kids’ parents are present. One evening, a parent was scrolling on their phone, not paying attention. They were completely unaware their body language was communicating to their child, “What I am doing...
read moreTexting Lingo Decoded
WTF does THOT mean? IDK YSK Remember when Gucci was a desirable fashion label and a goat was a cute farm animal? Now they mean "awesome" and "greatest of all time" respectively. It seems like our kids are speaking their own made-up language sometimes....
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