MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Aug. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ –

WHAT/WHY:    Parents' back-to-school checklist usually includes getting the new backpack, school supplies, and new clothes, but they shouldn't forget about getting their kids ready for the cyber-schoolyard. Trouble with peers online, an accidentally deleted term paper, or a ruined hard drive are all obstacles kids can run into during the school year. Reviewing cybersecurity basics with kids will help ensure their back-to-school experience goes smoothly. 

First, parents should remind their kids about the risks of cyberbullying, and teach them how to avoid being a participant or a victim. Second, parents can protect their family from malicious websites that target people searching for common back-to-school search terms. And third, families can ensure that they'll always have the computer help they need with a reliable technology assistance service.

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Cyberbullying. As kids get ready to go back to school, they're also getting ready to re-enter the intense social world they probably tuned out during the summer. As summer ends, parents should take the time to review the dangers of cyberbullying.
•In a 2011 survey of parents conducted by Norton and Impulse Research, nearly one in four parents polled (24 percent) said their child had been involved in a cyberbullying incident
•Nearly three out of four of those parents (68 percent) said their child was the victim of the incident

Remind kids that "real life" etiquette applies in cyberspace and that if they see someone being cyberbullied, they should talk to an adult. For more information on how to protect your child from cyberbullying, as well as other online dangers, check out theNorton Family Online Safety Guide.

•Poisoned back-to-school search terms and inappropriate websites. Searching for back-to-school basics isn't always safe. Cybercriminals monitor trends and calendar events so they'll know what Internet users are most likely to search. Then they create malicious websites that turn up in searches for

the term. When clicked, unsuspecting search engine users are tricked into downloading unwanted malware.  Additionally, kids may run into inappropriate websites when doing research for school.  Parents can use a free, Web-based service such as Norton Online Family to stay in the loop on their kids' online lives. 
•Be prepared for tech troubles. It's 2 a.m., the assignment is due tomorrow and…the document is gone! Tech catastrophes always occur at the worst times. Parents and students can disaster-proof their digital lifestyle withNortonLive Ultimate Help Desk, a personal IT assistance service. Norton is offering a 25 percent student discount untilSept. 30 so students can have peace of mind throughout the year, knowing they'll receive immediate help for PC, network, printer, smartphone and other digital device problems.

Experts are available 24/7, 365 days a year to help students get the most out of their technology, without having to leave the comfort of their own home – or dorm room.Even though this is basically a salse page for Nort

on it is still a great articleabout the Technology checklist that every parent and kid should be aware of .  In addition to paper and pencils, there is just too much technology out their for Kids and a computer is almost an absolute essential.  Unless your child goes to theLibrary to his/her homework on thier computers.

Tips from Norton on getting kids ready for the cyber-schoolyard

Does your child text? Does he or she drive? Chances are they’re doing both at the same time. According to the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety, 40 percent of drivers reported they're on theircellphones while driving at least a few times per week, and 19 percent talk daily. As a result, 22 percent of car accidents in 2009 were caused by cellphone usage.

Since adults can’t seem to stop themselves from deadly in-car multitasking, it’s probably not realistic to expect your teen to refrain from using his or her phone while driving.

Fortunately there are solutions that automatically kick in when the car starts rolling. These solutions come in two basic types:

Cellphone applications 
Apps such as T-Mobile's DriveSmart Plus and Key2SafeDriving sense when you’re driving, usually by GPS measuring your speed, and disable most or all of your phone's functionality once a pre-determined speed is reached.

All offer some sort of emergency override and passenger-usage exceptions, and some include Web-based cell-phone-use monitoring. You can opt into receiving messages whenever the app is overridden for cell phone use while driving.

Once the module is triggered by car usage, a signal disables your phone. Another set of solutions uses a Bluetooth module to enable all-voice and text-to-speech capabilities.

Combination hardware/apps 
These solutions work like the stand-alone apps, except instead of relying on GPS to sense car usage, a small module gets attached to a part of your car such as the emergency brake or the OBD (on-board diagnostics) module.

When I posed the question on Facebook.com, I recieved quite a discussion among my peers and colleages.  Some parents think that there should only be spying when there is cause to spy, because of a triggering action like lower grades, unexplained absence, change in behavior, change in friends, or getting caught doing drugs, stealing, sexting, even by accident.  Below are a few posts from the discussion with names removed.

•  It's not spying , it's making sure they are not @#$R% up !

•  There is a trust issue there. I know most parents feel entitled but at the same time you can't give the kid the sense that you NEVER believe in anything that they say. If you have a suspect something, address it.

•   I agree with you on the fact that it breaks the trust issue, I feel that it also relieves the kid of personal accountability – but then again – If I could have stopped my kids from taking that first hit – or meeting that first girl/boy – who knows?

•  The only reason we worry about things that ours kids do is because we worry about how unprepared they are. Kids won't communicate with you unless they feel you are an outlet of trust. Don't get me wrong nothing wrong with snooping if you really feel something is going on, but automatic entitlement to that isn't the best approach.

•  My (step son) plays on XBOX Live a lot, but when he is at school I check is Buddy list. If someone new is on there, next time he's playing I wait to see the same unknown name and ask "Oh who's that?" and if he says it's a friend, I'll ask to say hi.. Because it's an open dialog he lets me and the person on the other end knows "Oh S^&*! His parents are involved". I'll inform him of how people can be "inappropriate"  and show him videos of kids sending rage voice mails, bad hurtful messages, etc. Usually parents will see something out of sync, if at all, and immediately go into like an attack mode. There are smart ways to go about it without lookin glike the gustapo..

•  This is a huge issue. I think children and pre-teens need to be monitored closely to keep them safe. Teens need to be given privacy and respect. However you must still be involved as "the above" has stated, in a positive way. There is nothing wrong with monitoring a teens activities. Parents must examine their own motives. Teens need freedom to make their own wise decisions and to make mistakes that they will learn from, and parents should be there to help them when they fall.
 

As you can see there is quite a variety of responses from the 35-45 year old range, but how does a grandmother feel?

•  They did not have such things when my children and grand children were of an age of danger. Now that they are adults NO. Besides I would imagine that the "facebook" pages the danger age children have that their parents are aware of are edited for parents and then they would create alias pages only their friends would be aware of if they are doing things they did not want the general public to know. For children.

•  Youngest to 13 years old: I think it would be an individual decision. I think all parents know what their children are doing. Some just do not want to know or are afraid to know and others have a disconnected relationship with their children.

  13 and under: If you feel your child is experimenting or experiencing inappropriate adventures for their age and you truly want to help them and have or want to have a connected relationship with their children may want to monitor their whereabouts and openly discuss adventures that concern you.

Let's have some more discussion on this topic, How does it effect their self esteem if they find out you, the parent,  are spying without cause, what advice would you give to your parent friends?  Is having an open relationship with your kids more important (letting them know what you have done or are going to do?) 

If you let your kids know in advance that you are going to monitor their internet and cell phone activities won't they find another way to communicate without your knowledge?

I really like the comment where the parent shows their kid videos of the dangers of communicating with unknown people, who could be predators, cyber-bullies,  and overall inappropriate for a 13 year old. Below is a video that might be good to show your teenagers of the negative possibilities of Facebook.com and even though monitoring software might not be able to stop this particular danger, it might be a good conversation starter with your teens about the dangers of Facebook.com, and other social networking sites.

Car & Driver did a "scientific" test with two adults who were texting while driving and then who were driving under the influence according to the legal limits (on a closed course) and Texting proved to be the most dangerous of the two.  For decades we have heard PSA after PSA about "Don't Drink and Drive" and yet people still do it and now we are going to need even more broadcasts against the dangers of texting and driving. 

This ad says it all:

Parents need to lead by example and pull over if they need to check their phones, kids need to be taught at a very young age that while you are driving you MUST keep all distractions to a minimum.  

An Important Step in Safeguarding Our Children

As the parent of a teenage boy who is about to get his driver’s license, I began to think about the fact that I have not been specific enough about my expectations and the unyielding rules which will apply to his operation of a motor vehicle.

We have discussed the fact that this is a privilege and not a right and that he will soon be in a position where, if he is not careful, he could run the risk of seriously injuring himself, someone or even worse.

We have also discussed the risks that cause most teen driving accidents: inexperience; immaturity; speeding; having other passengers in the vehicle; driving distractions including talking on the cell phone, texting, eating, drinking, playing music or riding with an unrestrained family pet; drugs and alcohol use; and not being incredibly vigilant in the operation of our vehicle and by not practicing defensive driving.

There are so many other issues we did not discuss that need to be addressed, such as:

- Does he need to maintain a certain grade point average in school to be able to drive and if so what?

- What expenses will he be responsible for?

- What restrictions regarding hours of operation, weather conditions, and the number of passengers are to apply?

- What are the hard and fast penalties for having anyone enter the vehicle that has drugs or alcohol?

- What are the unyielding penalties if he ever consumes alcohol or does drugs and then operates the vehicle?

- What are the penalties for any moving violation which he receives?

- What happens if the he causes property damages or injures someone in an accident?

- What happens if he needs to call for alternative transportation to avoid either riding in or driving a vehicle where alcohol or drugs are involved?

After considerable thought I decided the best way to memorialize these requirements and so there can be no room for a misunderstanding, was to draft a Parent Teen Driver Contract which sets forth all of the rules and penalties for not following the requirements that are specifically set forth in the contract. I sat down with my son to fully review these requirements and to once again explain to him the great responsibilities that come with operating a potential object of death and destruction. I fully reviewed all of the terms, the reasons for their imposition and the consequences for violating any such rule.

I also explained that if he ever operated a motor vehicle after drinking alcohol or doing drugs his privilege to operate any motor vehicle, exclusive of what the court system or the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles does, would be permanently revoked for the duration of his high school career.

One great benefit of the contract is that it allows me, once again, to fully explain each rule, the reason for the rule, and the consequences, which result from any violation. It allows me to stress the profound importance of the rules and the formality of signing the contract reinforces this fact.

Despite understanding the reasons for its imposition, I was met with the initial resistance from my son in being required to sign a seemingly onerous document. I told my son that he did not have to sign it but that it was a requirement for operating any of our motor vehicles. After further discussion, it was signed.

The contract should provide one more safeguard in making my son a better driver, a more vigilant and defensive operator and will help my wife and me to feel just a little better knowing that we have taken this collaborative step in reinforcing these important considerations.

To download your contract  to print read and go over with your teen click here

Having the right insurance for you and your teen on all your vehicles is a big part of keeping your kids safe – all those others on the road and your car. 

Please do NOT turn on A/C as soon as you enter the car.  Open the  windows after you enter your car and turn ON the air-conditioning after a couple of minutes.

Here's why: According to a research, the car dashboard, sofa, air freshener emit Benzene, a Cancer causing toxin (carcinogen – take time to observe the smell of heated plastic in your car).  In addition to causing cancer, Benzene poisons your bones, causes anemia and reduces white blood cells.  Prolonged exposure will cause Leukemia, increasing the risk of cancer.  May also cause  miscarriage.  Acceptable Benzene level indoors is 50 mg per cu. ft. A car parked indoors with windows closed will contain 400-800 mg of Benzene. If parked outdoors under the sun at a temperature above 60 degrees F, the Benzene level goes up to 2000-4000 mg, 40 times the acceptable level…

People who get into the car, keeping windows closed will inevitably inhale, in quick succession excessive amounts of the toxin.  Benzene is a toxin that affects your kidney and liver.  What's worse, it is extremely difficult for your body to expel this toxic stuff.  So friends, please open the windows and door of your car – give time for interior to air out -dispel the deadly stuff – before you enter.

Absolute Must Know Tricks to Installing Car Seats

Whether you are installing an infant seat or a toddler seat, the rules are basically the same.  If you are not going to use the LATCH system and are planning to loop the car’s seat belts through the car seat there are some tricks that will ensure it is tight. The first thing to do is make sure that your child safety seat sits level on the seat.  If it doesn’t it is acceptable to place a rolled towel under it so that the baby or child is not leaned too far back.  As you bring the car seat belt through the seat’s path make sure to pull out the belt all the way.  This causes the seat belts in most cars to become locked or fixed.  It should make a distinct sound when you pull it out.  Once that is done, loop the belts through the back or bottom of the seat making sure you use the proper space provided.  Connect the belt to the buckle and allow the seat belt to retract all the way in.   After this is done, it is advisable to place your knee using all your weight to push the seat in place and retract the belt eliminating any of the slack.  Test it to make sure that it doesn’t sway side to side or forward and you will see just how tight it is.

How to Use a LATCH System and Belt Clips

At first glance child safety car seats can be confusing.  There are so many belts and buckles you may not know which ones to use.  On the back of the seat it should clearly say which ones are for LATCH (Lower anchors and tethers) and which are for the traditional seat belts.  If you are using the LATCH system you much find the bottom and top anchor points in your car.  They are usually behind the seat on the top and under the seat near the floorboards on the bottom.  Snap both of these into places.  Sometimes it is very difficult to use the LATCH system and properly tighten the belts.  The best bet is to use your body weight to pull the tethers tight. Check the seat to make sure it doesn’t rock or slip forward.  If it does continue tightening it until it no longer moves.

All Car Seats Will Come With a Clip on the Back

This clip is only necessary in older model cars and is used to ensure that the buckles do not slip.  The clip is attached to both of the belts (shoulder and lap) to hold them together and should be installed right above the clipping mechanism or buckle.  They can be hard to get on at first but are absolutely necessary in older model cars.  If you do not use them you risk allowing the belt system to malfunction which nulls the use of the car seat.  Think about this for a minute!  Consumer testing reports conducted showed that a car seat is 71% more effective at preventing injury at high and low speeds than using without.  Chances are if you install a seat wrong or move a child up to quickly – they will be killed in the event of a wreck.  All research indicates that car seats are the safest way to keep kids safe in the car and should be used properly.

Here we go again; another 14 year old girl has gone missing from Escondido, CA.  This is the second time within a year that this happened from Escondido and rumor is the latest missing girl, Amber Dubois, is yet again another child that may have met someone on the internet and run away.  Last year it was Kristen Smith.

What are we doing as a society or as parents to prevent our children from making sometimes deadly but always dangerous decisions to develop relationships on the Internet with people they do not know?  You always think to yourself, “Not in my home, not in my town!” especially when you run an Internet Safety company in the same town as these two instances.

A little less than a year ago, there was an article written by Michelle Renee about Internet Safety and Education.  She listed the following facts:

* 64% of teens post photos or videos of themselves online, while more than half (58%) post info about where they live.

* 32% of all teens and 43% of teens active in social networking have been contacted online by a complete stranger.

* 69% of teens regularly receive personal messages online from people they don’t know and most of them don’t tell a trusted adult about it.

* 23% of children have had an encounter with a stranger on the Internet, including 7% of children who reported having met someone in the real world from the Internet.

* 79% of sexual solicitation incidents happened to youth while they were using their home computer.

* 40% of solicitations began with a solicitor communicating with a youth through an instant message or “IM”.

* 56% of solicitations contained a request for the youth to send photographs of themselves to the solicitor and 27% of solicitations contained a request for the youth to send a sexual picture of themselves.

* 34% of youth have encountered unwanted sexual material while online.

Obviously, the message did not hit home with Superior Court.  The Superior Court stated that there were enough resources available to the public that the Government did not need to regulate or censure the Internet.  We as a society must take action on our own.  We can’t wait for someone else to protect our kids for us.

What we need to focus on is the education of these children on the dangers of the Internet and we need to provide all the protection we can as parents. Researchers have proven that Parents are THE most effective teachers of Internet Safety to their children.

You may think “Oh, I have a filter or parental controls on our PC“

but have you really educated your child on Internet Safety?

We, as parents and as a society, need to instill safe practices into our children’s minds.  CEN is different than all the other parental control software providers because they combine Education with Technology.

ClubTUKI, the social media platform of Children’s Education Network, actually rewards kids with TUKI Moola (virtual currency) for playing games that teach Internet Safety and Best Practices.  What better way to get kids to learn something than to reward them? Club TUKI also teaches financial literacy with their auction and bank systems by allowing kids to use their Moola to bid “eBay style” on real items like Nintendo Wii’s and iPod’s and other cool KidSafe products.

It all comes down to interacting with your children from age 3 and beyond about safe internet practices, providing families with the technology that will protect them, and continuing to monitor and reward good choices.

Missing children, whatever the cause or reason, is not something you would ever wish on anyone.  It really doesn’t matter whether Amber Dubois chose to runaway, planned a meeting with an Internet “friend,” or was abducted.  Amber is a child, a child of our community, she is in danger and we all need to do what we can to help her get home,  as well as prevent others from the same fate.

It doesn't.  Studies have consistently shown that hands-free phones don't do much to reduce the risk of accidents from driving while talking on a phone. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety sites two studies involving actual crash victims: one in Canada in 1997, the other in Western Australia in 2005. Those studies show that cell phone users are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves or damage property than are drivers who don't drive and talk on the phone.While the studies were unable to determine the benefits of placing a call with a hands-free device, once the conversation begins, the elevated risk of accidents were the same for both drivers with hands-free cell phones or handheld models.As the studies consistently demonstrate, it's not about the hands.

It's the driver's brain or cognitive abilities that are impaired while talking on a phone and driving. Their perception and judgment, their ability to react or even to be aware of what's going on around them is diminished. Reaction time is slowed. They are more likely to swerve.Drivers are also distracted by conversations with other passengers in a car. But the other passenger is aware when the driver approaches a difficult driving situation – entering a packed freeway, for example, or a dangerous intersection – and is more likely to slow the conversation or stop talking. By contrast, the person on the other end of the telephone is dangerously unaware.A hands-free cell phone will prevent you from getting a ticket. But if your goal is to avoid an accident, the best advice is hang up and drive.

Infant-Only Seats
Like a child’s clothing, safety seats range in sizes for all ages and weights. An infant-only seat fits children up to about 25 pounds with some models equipped with swing up carrying handles. You can even opt for a “system” that includes a stroller, and a detachable base that can be left attached in the car. It is preferred that your child ride in a rear-facing position for as long as possible. Never put a rear-facing seat in the front passenger seat unless you disarm the airbag on that side.

LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children)
From 2002 on, auto makers have been installing an improved way to attach a child’s safety seat to the vehicle called the LATCH System. You can also have this system installed in older cars. To be double sure, consult the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (http://www.nhtsa.gov) for a local car seat inspection station so your car can be checked for correct installation by a certified child passenger safety technician.

Toddlers & Preschoolers Earn a Larger Safety Seat
For children 1 year of age or older and over 20 pounds, a forward-facing safety seat is appropriate. Once a child has outgrown the forward-facing car seat, he can use a booster seat until the standard seatbelt fits him, usually from eight to twelve years of age. After a child has outgrown the booster seat, he may graduate to riding while just wearing the seat belt.

The choice, installation and proper use of child safety seats merits research and careful consideration starting before your child is even born. Numerous studies are published every year comparing the features, effectiveness, and ease of use of safety seats. Reading about the new five star rating system for car seats available online at the NHTSA can be a great starting point for anyone who wants to research the products currently on the market. As is the case with many commercially produced products, defects in car safety seats are occasionally discovered causing products to be recalled. Consumer Reports, Parents Magazine, Family Circle and other publications publish the occurrences of problems with child safety seats online and in their magazines.