Family and Child Online Safety Blog - SafetyClicks

The Fat Boy Chronicles tells the story of Jimmy Winterpock, the subject of brutal high school bullying who overcomes the torment by finding the strength to focus on his goal to lose weight and win over the girl of his dreams. The story is based on the novel by Diane Lang and Michael Buchanan. The film brings real world issues that affect teenagers to an audience looking for answers.

In addition to the inspirational story for the whole family, The Fat Boy Chronicles is also an ideal occasion to discuss with your teen the topic of bullying. The film progresses in such wonderful teaching moments that parents will easily find opportunities to have enlightening conversations with their teen without seeming as if to lecture.

The newly released DVD is filled with special features including audio commentary with the director and authors of the novels, cast interviews and bullying prevention information from the International Bullying Prevention Association.

For more information on this film and DVD purchases, go to thefatboychronicles.com

If you have a teen lurking in your home, you have inevitably been informed at one time or another that something you've just said or done was "sooo not cool." Since the beginning of time "cool" has always had a place in teen vernacular. More than a word, a state of being, that has never been considered outdated. It is without irony then that That's Not Cool, A public education initiative to prevent teen dating abuse, has taken off. This initiative includes a web site focusing on abuse prevention that delivers a clear and concise message to teens about exactly what is NOT COOL in a way that they can relate to.

That's Not Cool concentrates on preventing controlling or abusive behavior occurring within the digital universe (online, cell phone, etc.). The message and delivery could not be more relevant in today's environment of sexting, cyber bullying and general digital abuse. This site wisely encourages teens to draw their own lines about what is, or is not, acceptable relationship behavior rather than lecturing. There are fun, yet educational videos (see below), call out cards and games.

February 2011 marks the 2^nd Annual National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month, so take time over the next few days and weeks and encourage your Teen to spend some time discovering what is not cool at That's Not Cool.

School is almost out and summer break is just around the corner. Do you know what your kids will be doing this summer? How will they be spending their spare free time for the next sixty or so days? Whatever you may or may not have lined up in terms of activities for your children, one thing is certain for most kids - free time offline means more time spent online.

This year add a new tradition to your usual end school year routine, along with graduation parties, summer camp registration and vacation preparations. Before this summer begins, talk to your children about staying safe online. A safety conversation is probably the last thing your kids want to have before they are set free for the lazy days summer, but it's important and it won't take long. Pick a day and put it on the calendar so you both stay committed. As a matter of fact, make it a complete safety briefing covering all their summer activities.

Just when you were starting to think that social networks were nothing more than an online time drain, along comes Greenwala. This benevolent social network not only focuses on helping their users connect about being green, Greenwala is also out there literally making the world green for us all. Read more about Greenwala's efforts here.

Social Networking Site Plants a Tree For Each Sign Up.

Older adults seem to like the social networking sites for the same reasons younger generations do - checking in with friends, making new ones and reconnecting with people they've lost touch with or only see once a year.

Learn more at Fort Mills Times.

Youngsters ..... are bypassing parents and teachers by using the code.

Read here to learn more. Press Association.

A NEW group called Action Against Cyber Bullying has been initiated by a concerned parent.

Read more about this here The Straits Times.

Richard A. Smith provides some great insight in The Huffington Post about Social Networks and what they mean to us today. Here is just one of his interesting observations as to why being a part of a social network is so beneficial.

For the first time in human history, technology enabled social media allow us to exponentially expand our network of weak ties, potentially into the thousands over a lifetime. In so doing, these tools dramatically increase the flow of knowledge and opportunity available to each of us.

To read the rest of the report go to The Huffington Post.

A recent market research group conducted a Kids & Digital Content study that revealed kids are downloading and playing games as much as ever.

"Although the most dramatic increase in usage of these devices happens at about age 9, playing games appears to be an activity that first engages young kids with the digital world," commented NPD analyst Anita Frazier. "Our study finds that 82 percent of kids ages 2 to 5 play games on one or more of the devices surveyed."

Read more about this study at Gamespot.com.