Responding to the stress of social media ‘likes’ during the holidays and beyond

Responding to the stress of social media ‘likes’ during the holidays and beyond

by | Dec 11, 2019 | addiction, Anxiety, Children's Health & Mental Health, Children's mental health, Discipline, Family, Internet Safety, Mobile Phone Use and Children, Parent-child relationship, Parenting, Social Media, Teenagers, Texting, Wisdom

A recent feature on Jersey 105.5 reminds parents that youth today experience stress with social media influences that can inspire great anxiety – especially around the holidays. There is more time to hang out on-line and young folks feel a pressure to take pictures to...
Why tech-savvy youth need confident parents: What does that look like?

Why tech-savvy youth need confident parents: What does that look like?

by | Sep 24, 2019 | addiction, Cyberbullying, Discipline, Family, Mobile Phone Use and Children, Parent-child communication, Parent-child relationship, Parental control, Parenting, Prevention strategy, Sexting, Social Media, Substance Abuse & Addiction, Texting, Wisdom

When I started this mission to strengthen the parent-child bond in a cyber-powered world, my own confidence as a parent had been deeply shaken with the advent of the mobile device in the hands of youth. In the fall of 2004, my digital native had purchased his own...
Who is in control? Two truths about power struggles with tech-savvy youth

Who is in control? Two truths about power struggles with tech-savvy youth

by | Mar 15, 2019 | Faith, Family, Mobile Phone Use and Children, Parent-child communication, Parent-child relationship, Parental control, Parenting, Social Media, Teenagers, Texting, Wisdom

Executive summary In a world punctuated by dynamic, innovative and disruptive social media trends parents can easily perceive that they have very little control over the security and behavior of their tech-savvy children. When parents harbor a fearful desire to be in...
A sixth-grader’s insights on responsible use of a smartphone

A sixth-grader’s insights on responsible use of a smartphone

by | Feb 25, 2019 | Boundaries, Discipline, Family, Mobile Phone Use and Children, Parent-child communication, Parent-child relationship, Parenting, Social Media, Texting, Wisdom

This is a guest blog feature by my niece, Katie. She is in the sixth grade and I asked her to share her insights about how she is going to use the smartphone for good when her parents do allow her to receive one of her own. I offer her thoughts to help illustrate what...
Steps to redirect your child’s thinking habits to inspire confidence

Steps to redirect your child’s thinking habits to inspire confidence

by | Jan 8, 2019 | Anxiety, Boundaries, Bullying, Children & Teens Problems & Pitfalls, Children's Health & Mental Health, Children's mental health, Cyber Safety, Cyberbullying, Education, Faith, Family, Happiness, Mobile Phone Use and Children, Parenting, Social Media, Suicide, Teenagers, Texting, Wisdom, Youth Suicide

One significant challenge for youth today is that they are born into a cyber-powered world that hypes negative reasoning. This is an intense environment which when unchecked can shape a personal view of the world; that it is never going to “feel safe.”  And this world...