Parents concerned about the digital part of parenting deserve to know that they are not starting from scratch when their kids start using phones, tablets and other connected devices – even if they haven't had conversations about digital safety yet. Far from it. Besides a loving family member or 2, 3 or 30 and the safeguarding norms, identity and values that most kids develop at home, kids also … [Read more...] about The resilience part of digital parenting (& kids’ safety)
Sameer Hinduja
IBPA 2016: Focus on the positive
It's fitting that the last day of a bullying prevention conference focusing on empathy, kindness and resilience happened to be Election Day 2016. Whether or not they were thinking about it, some 750 educators, students, researchers and practitioners together capped off possibly the most divisive, indecent, relationally challenged presidential election season in our history by modeling and … [Read more...] about IBPA 2016: Focus on the positive
Musical.ly inclined: App huge with younger users
Musical.ly just may've replaced Instagram as kids' starter app. This is an educated guess. I remember a few years ago my friend Trudy Ludwig, the award-winning children's author, observing that, based on all the elementary schools she visits throughout the U.S., Instagram was huge with 4th and 5th graders. Don't get us wrong, we know the official minimum age of these apps is 13. The reality, … [Read more...] about Musical.ly inclined: App huge with younger users
Why defining ‘bullying’ is important for schools
There are all kinds of reasons why "bullying" and "cyberbullying" can't be applied to just any kind of mean behavior that happens in physical or digital spaces. Professor and author Justin Patchin goes into a bunch of them in his latest blog post, but parents may want to know why lack of definition is a problem for schools as well as for students. For example, Patchin writes, "recently-passed … [Read more...] about Why defining ‘bullying’ is important for schools
What are we really seeing in the social media fishbowl?
As a society, we're getting closer to the heart of social media safety, which is largely, not entirely, a blend of emotional and social (psychosocial) safety. This thoughtful piece by Prof. Justin Patchin of the Cyberbullying Research Center – "Bullies or Best Friends? The Challenge of Interpreting Interpersonal Relationships" – raises some important questions for parents and school staff as well … [Read more...] about What are we really seeing in the social media fishbowl?