Let Our Kids Play

I just heard that my good friend Chris has launched a Playborhood site in Canada! I commented previously about the folks over at this great site when he brought it to my attention a while ago. I guess the message hit home with him as much as it did with me.

Where is the Presidential Leadership

I was having a conversation this morning with a colleague about politics. As somebody who advocates for keeping our kids safe on-line, that lead me wonder about what sort of real leadership there is out there for this important issue. Where do the presidential hopefuls stand? I certainly don't have the time to do an in depth analysis, but if you do and want to provide us with insight, please feel free to make a post. What I do have time for is to do a quick scan of the top candidates to see what they have to say on the issue of protecting our kids online from a variety of dangers and negative influences. I'll update you on what I learn and to start the process, I'll begin with yesterday's New Hampshire primary winners. Sadly, neither Hillary Clinton, the Democrat nor John McCain, the Republican had much to say on the topic. At least not as a key platform issue.

Here's what Hillary's official web site says: "Among the issues she has fought for and will make a priority as president are: protecting children against violence and sexual content in the media and studying the impact of electronic media on children's cognitive, social and physical development."

And over at John's official site, the issue is addressed like this....

That's right, not a word. How disappointing that a leading contender has nothing to say about protecting kids online.

As parents we need to stand up and let political candidates know that we care - that we not only need their support, but we need their leadership to make the changes necessary to protect our kids.

Boundaries in the Sand

I usually try not to post more than once a day, but I came across this interesting post made by Brian Baker, CEO of Hopscotch Technology. Mr Baker is participating in a day long session at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas called the Sandbox Summit which is looking at kids and technology. Of course, there's a heavy focus on toys and gadgets, but the interesting thing is that this particular session is also about how these things influence kids behavior. Brian makes some interesting observations about setting boundaries for our kids and making sure the technology doesn't take over. Read his great post here.

Fun for the Brain

If you've been a regular on this blog you'll know that one of my favorite things to do is surf around to find new and interesting sites that are both fun for kids and keep us grown ups happy. You'd be amazed at how hard it is to strike the right balance. So when I come across something good, I like to pass it along. Today, I found a site called FunBrain. While it is a little heavy on the advertising, it does have a lot of good stuff that is mostly educational. It also has resources for teachers and parents as well as for the kids. It's one of those web sites that you can share with your kids - and that's what the web should be all about.

Fresh Air instead of Refresh Screen

This blog is all about keeping our kids safe online. But did you ever stop to wonder why this is even a problem we need to worry about. Why are the kids spending so much time on a computer in the first place? Why aren't they outside playing in the park? Well, the folks at Playborhood have decided to do something about it. They've dedicated their time and effort to promoting the notion that kids should be kids. Here's just a little of what the founder, Mike Lanza, has to say on the topic:

"When I think about my kids’ (boys, 3 and soon-to-be-born) futures, I’m terrified. I’m not terrified that they will have inferior educations or live in an unsafe world. I’m terrified that they won’t have very much fun. To illustrate my point, take a moment to think of the ten best memories of your childhood before high school. Chances are, if you’re over 30, most of these memories involve playing outside your house with friends, not scheduled events with adults around."

I for one support Mike and his playmates entirely.

Amazon dot come on already....

I just finished reading a great book recommended by my friends over at Kinsa and wanted to pass it along to my faithful readers here. Julian Sher has penned a number of great books exploring behind the scenes details of law and order topics. The latest is called "One Child at a Time" and is a look at the global fight to combat on-line child pornography. It's a great read and you can find out more here: One Child at a Time: The Global Fight to Rescue Children from Online Predators

Which brings me to my point... normally, I'd post this link to Amazon and encourage you to snap up a copy for yourself. But for some strange reason, this book isn't available yet on the U.S. site. You can get it on Amazon's Canadian site here. I'm not sure why this is the case, but come on already, Amazon. Books like this are important tools in helping us all to understand how to keep our kids safe and what the law is doing about it. We need all the help we can get.

Resolutions

Here we are on the eve of a whole new year and that means a whole lot more to think about when it comes to keeping our kids safe online. The thing to remember about the new year is that it comes on the heels of of the holiday gift-giving extravaganza. How many people do you know who received new electronics as a gift? And how many more do you know who took advantage of the boxing day sales at Wal-Mart, Target, Sears, Best Buy and the countless other superstores? All those folks were not just buying plasma televisions, they were also buying computers, x-boxes, i-Pods, web-enabled cell phones and a countless array of other items that access the internet.

The season isn't just a boon for retailers... it's a marketing extravaganza for on-line marketers and a field day for predators. Statistics show that all those new computers will be used for more hours during the first month than during the following 4 months combined. All those new computers will be cranked up and tested out. All our kids wanting to explore the limits of their new gadgets is an invitation to those who want to take advantage of their wide-eyed excitement and slip past normal defences.

On-line marketers, both legitimate and those not so reputable types, take advantage of this bubble of interest to put their message in front of as many people as possible. And it's no coincidence that they do it at a time when so many people are just learning how to use a new gadget, or haven't had a chance to install the latest virus software, junk-mail filters, or security program. And don't forget that new systems require you to put in place a whole new set of parental controls.

For the new year, let's all do our bit to keep our kids safe by making a few easy resolutions. Here's a few to help you...

1. Install the latest anti-virus software before anything else. Better yet, have the store install and set it up for you before you take that new gadget home. Before you do any surfing, make sure you do an on-line update with the software to install the most up-to-date defenses.
2. For younger kids, pre-set all parental controls before the kids get their hands on any new devise. For your older children, sit down with them as they set up the devise on their own. That way they will feel in control even though you are setting the limits - and they will learn to take security seriously.
3. Don't set up any new e-mail accounts until you've had a chance to fully understand the limits of your new devise and then make sure your filters are set to the highest setting for the first month or so. Keep an eye on your kids messages and flag any junk-mail or spam right away.
4. Have the messages filtered by your security software dumped into a secure folder that you can review to catch any errors. Better yet, review them with your kids so they learn to recognize what is and isn't appropriate. Always flag junk-mail as spam, don't just delete it. By doing so, your software will learn how to filter the messages you don't want to get through.
5. The best defense is always the best offense. Be with your kids and pay attention to what they are doing whenever they access the internet.

I already do my best to do all these things. But it doesn't hurt to take a refresher once in a while. For the new year, that's my resolution. What's yours?