child-cell-phone-48.html
0117 JANUARY
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downside to a
child
owning a cell phone
. in seconds, a child can access inappropriate websites and images, save or share them, and communicate with people all over the world?all without the parents
? knowledge. preteen and teen social media presence has vastly expanded over the last few years. between snapchat and instagram alone, individuals are able to connect at rapid rates and share their day-to- day movements as they happen. ?is can frighten some parents and even put the child ?s safety at risk. ?row in the inappropriate use of those social media apps (bullying and sexting, for example) and parents have even more to worry about. because of ?not knowing the dangers of chat rooms or bogus sites offering ?free prizes? as a result of entering in their parents? or their own personal information, online predators can easily access financial information of the user and run amuck making fraudulent purchases on mom and dad?s dime. adults can easily lie about their age and personal information on child-geared group chat rooms only to successfully lure innocent young people to providing inappropriate information about themselves, and in serious cases, convince them to meet up outside of the home,? says ewing. despite all of this, knowing the child?s behavior and monitoring the child?s actions while the child is online can and will prevent the child from getting into trouble. how to stay safe for parents that have decided their child is ready, and that he or she will find the device useful, parents should be just as educated on the device as the child is. ewing explains, ?we like to tell children that having a cell phone is a serious responsibility. in truth, the responsibility is just as great, if not more so, on the parent. parents must make a point to research all of the latest safeguards to protect their children from online predators, cyberbullying, and the multitude of dangers of the internet.? and most importantly, parents should be ready to monitor their child and their usage of the cell phone. ?with the rise of problems with children and social media, specific apps are being created for parents to be able to monitor their child?s cell phone data and usage. if parents don?t educate their child or teen on age- appropriate behavior as far as the internet on the phone is concerned, they often don?t possess the time to constantly monitor what their child is consuming from social media,? says ewing. taking the time to monitor a child?s usage and keeping communication open with the child about the importance of his or her safety while using the device will help to make this entire process a lot easier. while there are a lot of things to consider before deciding to hand over a cell phone, taking the time to consider those things will absolutely be worth it for the parent and the child in the long run. ? we like to tell children that having a cell phone is a serious responsibility. in truth, the responsibility is just as great, if not more so, on the parent. january 2017 | brparents.com 49
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