If our kids text, 80% of us do too, according to The Nielsen Company. Nielsen doesn't say why, but we all know: Our kids "hear" us better when we text them, and – besides – it's fun to text with them! Here's some more interesting cellphone data from Nielsen: Phone owners are getting younger: Last year kids typically got their first phone at age 10.1; by the beginning of this year 2009, the phone … [Read more...] about Social lives, media in their pockets
Parenting
iPhone app for teen’s location
Called iCurfew, it's aimed at getting teens and parents collaborating. "This app builds trust," writes Vanessa Van Petten of RadicalParenting.com. "iCurfew is an easy way for kids and parents to check-in with each other remotely." With this 99-cent app, the young person sends a link to a Google Map showing his or her current location to the parent's email address. "Kids can add their own message … [Read more...] about iPhone app for teen’s location
Tools & sites aimed at better kid time online
There seems to be this firewall between kids' products that kids like and kids' products that parents like. It's rare and amazing when that wall collapses, but I think what helps is when the product, while passing parental muster, is just plain useful to kids. Kid-friendly online utilitiesChildren's Web browser Kidzui meets those criteria – after all, kids need to browse the Web, and a lot of … [Read more...] about Tools & sites aimed at better kid time online
Posting pix: How cautious should we be?
The other day I was talking to a psychologist who described a time when he was driving into a busy 4-way intersection on a highway frontage road – one of the craziest intersections I've ever heard described. He came to a stop, he said, and suddenly found he just couldn't take his foot off the brake, paralyzed by a voice in his head saying, "Be careful. Don't move. Don't get in that driver's way. … [Read more...] about Posting pix: How cautious should we be?
Echometrix: Monitoring *and* selling kids’ chat
With its Sentry Parental Control Software, Echometrix sells what kids say online in the name of protecting them. Once installed, Sentry – like other products in its category – monitors kids online activity and communications for risky speech and behavior and sends parents alerts upon detection. What isn't like most other such products is how the company packages the kid communications (in … [Read more...] about Echometrix: Monitoring *and* selling kids’ chat