Kids Safety
Stolen Facebook pictures of children paraded on social media account
Parents who post pictures of their children on social media are putting them at risk, a detective heading the crusade against online child abuse says.
How to keep track of your kids online and help them deal with bullying
The Globe’s Dave McGinn spoke to Debra Pepler, a professor of psychology at York University and scientific co-director at PREVNet, a network of researchers and organizations dedicated to stopping bullying in Canada about the importance of keeping track of your kids online and how to help them deal with bullying or other issues.
Dave McGinn, The Globe and Mail
In Virginia classrooms, should parents block sexually explicit literature for their kids?
Lawmakers in Virginia moved forward Thursday with legislation that could make it the first state in the country to allow parents to block their children from reading books in school that contain sexually explicit material.
Jenna Portnoy, The Washington Post
Only In America: An Indiscreet Selfie Can Put A Kid In Prison
Did you know that if you are an American under 18 years old and you use your cell phone to send a nude “selfie” of yourself to a friend, you can be convicted of manufacturing and distributing “child pornography” and sent to prison? In case you are too old to be in the loop, a “selfie” is a photo that one makes of oneself.
Dr. Paul Craig Roberts, GlobalResearch
Rise of the kid vloggers: Children as young as FOUR are the next generation of YouTube stars — amassing free toys and games worth thousands
A new crop of child bloggers are making a name for themselves on YouTube after being inspired by their social media savvy mothers. Kushi Singh, 11, from Hertforshire and Mollie Smith, four, from Norfolk both have bedrooms full of shiny new toys, gadgets and games. All the goodies have been sent absolutely free with companies clamouring for the two girls, who both boast very successful blogs, to review their products.
Parents Turning To Technology To Calm Kids Down
A recent study, led by Dr. Jenny Radesky of the University of Michigan’s C.S Mott Children’s Hospital, indicates that some parents are more tempted than others when it comes to the use of technology to soothe children’s behavior.
Posting their child’s pictures on Facebook could get some parents in big trouble with the law
Uploading adorable baby photos to Facebook or Instagram has become just another part of 21st century parenting, but French parents who share photos of their children could soon end up in jail.
UK to ban online junk food ads aimed at kids?
Junk food ads are already banned on TV, but this could soon be extended to online in a bid to combat the obesity epidemic, the UK’s advertising watchdog has said. Adverts for unhealthy products high in fat, sugar or salt are already banned on children’s television, but authorities will soon launch a consultation on whether to roll this out to all media – including websites, print and billboards.
Kids worry about parents oversharing on social media, study finds
They’re often frustrated, it turns out. In a new study, kids were more than twice as likely as their parents to say they’re concerned about adults sharing too much information about them online.
Teenage sexting ‘timebomb’: Kids at risk from online paedos says campaigner
The number of school-kids sending explicit phone messages and photos has soared by an incredible 1,200% in the last two years. One in six UK teenagers have accessed the Tinder dating app and 44,000 have been caught sending inappropriate messages in class.
A Harvard researcher says meeting strangers online is actually great for kids
Meeting strangers online is often portrayed as a serious risk of the internet. But Tricia Wang, a social-media researcher who’s worked as a visiting scholar at New York University and a fellow at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet Studies, argues that it’s also one of its greatest benefits. And that young teenagers are increasingly using social networks to seek out interesting strangers.
