News Reel

Just when parents didn't think they could deal with one more tech-related thing having to do with their teens, it has come to law enforcement's attention that street drugs are now available on Social Media. Read Tech Talk Tuesday's post about it below: Last month in Marin County, California, police arrested a person who was selling drugs. What makes this arrest different than most other drug busts is that this person was selling drugs on Snapchat. Yes. The same [...]

Controlling screen time for children and teens is harder than it sounds. This week Screenagers gives some "hacks" to decrease time on screens - are you up for the challenge? Which hacks decrease undesired screen time? This is the question to ask kids and teens this week. From that discussion, see if they, ideally along with you, will choose to adopt one of these ideas for 24 or even 72 hours. It’s a Hack Challenge—and who doesn’t like a [...]

Screens are quickly taking over every aspect of daily life, and are already replacing regular interpersonal communication, but the rise of screens at mealtimes is particularly disturbing. In the article below, written by Cris Rowan, the benefits of screen-free mealtimes is explored in depth. The evening meal is traditionally recognized as a social occasion involving family members, a table/chairs, and a home cooked dinner. When I was a child, dinners involved my two brothers and I suffering through an [...]

Currently, Fortnite is all the rage among children and adolescents who play video games. But more and more we’re finding that it is having negative, sometime dangerous effects in their lives. The following article, by Beth Teitell and published in the Boston Globe gives more insight. “They are not sleeping. They are not going to school. They are dropping out of social activities. A lot of kids have stopped playing sports so they can do this.” Michael Rich, a [...]

Teens and cell phones bring up an ever changing landscape of pitfalls parents are trying to help them avoid. One huge pitfall? Sexting. The latest question, answered by Screenagers in the article below, is about laws effecting sexting within the teen demographic. Please read below to find out how to help your teen understand sexting and it's consequences better. Teenagers are budding with sexual energy. Mix that with cell phones and it can be a complicated combination. According to [...]

Self-harm is becoming more and more prevalent among children. As it does they are looking for different ways to harm themselves. Below is a study about the lengths children are willing to go to in order to self-harm. Children as young as 12 are competing with each other to commit worsening acts of self-harm on websites, a groundbreaking study reveals. They described wanting to become “better self-harmers” and match horrific injuries they saw on Tumblr, one of the sites they [...]

Did you and your family watch the Superbowl last night? Not everyone watches for the football - many people watch for the advertisements and the half time show. But, are the ads really kid-friendly (or the half time show for that matter)? The article below, written by the Children's Screen Time Action Network, demonstrates that they just might not be, and what you as a parent can do about it. It was January 1999 and the Falcons and the [...]

Gambling is now more common among teenagers than drinking, smoking or taking drugs, a report has found. The Gambling Commission says that 450,000 children aged between 11 and 16, equivalent to one in every seven, are taking part in some form of gambling. Researchers found children were increasingly making wagers with friends at school or gambling online at home. More than 70,000 teenagers are classed as problem gamblers, with 55,000 more at risk of becoming addicted. Parents and teachers were [...]