Total Tech Parenting

Those things hurt don't they! Happy 4th to all the families. May you have some wonderful times away from their phone screens!

"I never dreamed it would happen to my daughter.." were the words of a Mom who discovered her daughter was sending n**e pics to someone online that turned out to be a predator.

We must always talk to our kids about online safety, but these online predators are really good at manipulation.

What if there was a way to get notified that trouble was brewing before it escalated? There is. Check out our website for more info. www.totaltechparenting.com

don't underestimate your importance! Are you involved in how your kids use the internet, devices and social media? They need you to be.

What is said online can be permanent. Make sure your kids know this.

Officer Gomez is known for protecting kids from predators. In just one month he arrested 16 men who went to meet and have s*x with 13-year-old girls. One of the men, was a local coach in the community. A solid parental controls strategy is a must in today's world.

While Minecraft does have some potential dangers, it is a wonderful game for kids compared to so many others out there! Keep an eye on them with servers. There are always those horrible predators out there no matter what game it is.

I'm not gonna lie, implementing parental controls after giving your kids wide-open internet won't come easy. But remember, we're the parents. They need us to protect them, and set limits so they can live their best lives online and offline.

Do you know what info your kids have given out on the internet?
Ask them tonight at dinner.

1. What birthdate are they using to sign up for different accounts and services?
2. Have they ever told an "online-only friend" where they live?
3. Has anyone online asked what school they go to? When/where?

Have a conversation about what they can and shouldn't ever give out on the internet - no matter how much they think they can "trust" the person on the other side.

I'm a big fan of waiting as long as possible to give your kids a phone. The more people that do this, the better off our kids will be. Wait Until 8th is an organization with a good cause. And when you do finally give them a phone, make sure it's Android not iPhone and put Bark on it!

WOW! Pledges from families across the country are pouring in after the Today Show featured the Wait Until 8th pledge yesterday!

Thank you Savannah Guthrie for saying, "Wait Until 8th and the whole idea of strength in numbers is the answer" to the smartphone challenge.

She shared she has talked with some other parents in her child's 2nd grade class about delaying the smartphone together. Carson Daly agreed that a community standard for delaying smartphones is helpful!

More than 40,000 parents from across the country are delaying the smartphone for their children until at least 8th grade!

The pledge is for smartphones only. If you need to get in touch before 8th grade, we have some starter phones listed on our website without internet browsers or access to the app stores.

There are so many reasons to delay! Our main reason for waiting was to let our kids be kids longer. Instead of hours of Instagramming, scrolling, YouTubing, and SnapChatting, we're raising our hands to exploring, reading, creating, learning, and enjoying being a kid.

Plus, access to a smartphone exposes your child to
👉cyberbullying
👉 po*******hy
👉 s*xting
👉 intense pressure with social media

Do you know smartphones are an academic distraction as well? Research shows the mere presence of a smartphone reduces cognitive capacity and test-taking brainpower.

Also, excessive smartphone use increases the risk for anxiety and depression.

Let's let kids be kids longer. Delay the smartphone with the Wait Until 8th pledge!

To watch the story, check out the video in our post from yesterday!

While these tips and built-in app parental controls are useful, they aren't a complete parental controls solution. It's important they are coupled with multiple layers and software to analyze what your kids are seeing so you're alerted if it's dangerous so you can act before things escalate.

How to Use Parental Controls on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat TikTok has the most comprehensive safety features for teens; to take advantage of default settings on social-media apps, parents must ensure kids don’t lie about their age.