Is Holding Up A Humiliating Sign An Appropriate Way to DisciplineYour Child?

Is holding up a humiliating sign an appropriate way to discipline your child?  Reshonda Tate Billingsley thinks so.  When her daughter posted pictures of herself with alcohol, she had her post a follow up picture of herself holding a sign that said "Since I want to post photos of me holding liquor I am obviously not ready for social media and will be taking a haitus until I learn what I should + should not post.  BYE BYE."  I am all for disciplining children, what I am not in favor of is humiliating them in that process.  Building a trusting and respectful relationship with your teenager is an uphill battle that can be obliterated in an instant when they feel that your action has humiliated them in the eyes of their friends.

I suggest that taking away their social networking priviliges and their phone will have the same results as the picture but avoid the humiliation and the irreparabled damage to your relationship.

Facebook Status Updates that Parent Should Be Concerned About

One of my readers, Melanie Slaugh, sent me this link entitled "10 Scary FaceBook Status Updates Parents Should Watch For." It provides good information for parents about what to look for, and be concerned about, with regard to the content of your child's social networking status. I think it is important to monitor what your child is doing on the internet. This may seem like an invasion of their privacy but, with all the predators and cyberbullies out there, I believe it is a parents job to keep their child safe in cyberspace.

http://www.myispfinder.org/ispblog/2011/10-scary-facebook-status-updates-parents-should-watch-for/

Does the Facebook Age Restriction Really Keep Our Children Safer When They Are On the Internet?

In a recent study parents reported that although Facebook's minimum age is 13, 36% of all parents surveyed reported that their child joined Facebook before the age of 13, and that 68% helped their child create the account.
78% parents surveyed think it is acceptable for their child to violate minimum age restrictions on online services.

Given the results of this survey, I think that our money could be better spent by educating parents and children on how to stay safe on the internet, rather than enforcing an outdated law passed in 1998 before sites like facebook were created that children and parents can get around by lying about the child's age. Websites like isafe.org, www.netsmartz.org, and www.stobullyingnow.hrsa.org provide great information both for parents and children on how to stay safe online.