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
Search Results for: Safety by design
Teen drivers: Take a ‘text stop’
That's the suggestion Det. Frank Dannahey, a longtime youth division officer who has a lot of experience with the texting-while-driving issue, gives teen drivers he knows. "Just like a rest stop on the highway, you could pull over, get a latte, and text yourself silly!!", he wrote. Following the news that people who text on their cellphones while driving are 23 times more likely to crash than … [Read more...] about Teen drivers: Take a ‘text stop’
COPPA 2.0 isn’t kids’ privacy 2.0
Remember COPPA, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998? It was designed to protect the privacy of children under 13. According to Berin Szoka and Adam Thierer, who just completed a paper for policymakers on current efforts to change COPPA, "the law was intended primarily to 'enhance parental involvement in a child’s online activities' as a means of protecting the online privacy and … [Read more...] about COPPA 2.0 isn’t kids’ privacy 2.0
Where will online teens go next?
Some of us are watching to see if, now that so many parents are joining Facebook, teens will migrate somewhere else (see this post, suggesting that mobile texting might be a sign of diversification vs. mass migration). In her YPulse blog, Anastasia Goodstein just asked a good (related) question: "Should Large Social Networks Give Teens Their Space Back?" Teens have always needed to have hangouts … [Read more...] about Where will online teens go next?
Being up front about monitoring online kids
I see no point in parents secretly monitoring kids' online activities - except if a parent feels a child is in danger and the child is unwilling to communicate or make a change in those activities and is being secretive him or herself. If those exceptional criteria are met and a child is at risk, surreptitious use of monitor software is very probably necessary. Otherwise, the only kind of … [Read more...] about Being up front about monitoring online kids