Basic Rules & Pledges for Online Safety for Parents to Teach Children

Here are some guidelines for parents and discussion points as your children start getting on line and being part of the world wide web community.

  1. Without permission of your parents do not give out any personal information.
    1. address, phone number
    2. parents work address or phone number
    3. name of your school or the location of the school
  2. Teach your child that if they come across information on any websites that makes them feel uncomfortable – they are to tell you about it immediately.
    1. this is in the case that they somehow get on a site by accident or have been redirected
  3. Under no circumstances or for any reason including promises should you agree to meet someone or get together with someone that you meet online without checking first with your parents.  Then if they agree the meeting should take place in a public place and your parents should come along.
  4. Never send anyone online your photo or anything else without first checking in with your parents.
  5. Teach your child that if they receive a message that is mean or is harassing, or a picture that is uncomfortable they are to let you know right away.  Reassure your child that it is not their fault and then as the parent you may contact the authorities and or the online service.
  6. Finally set up rules for going online, such as the time of day, how much time you will be on the computer and appropriate areas for your child to visit.
  7. Have the computer that your child will be using in a public area of the house so that you are able to see what your child is doing while online.
  8. Have an understanding that if they break the rules or access areas without permission that you the consequences are as you have set them out.

Keeping your child safe is your first and most important requirement as a parent.  Talking about these rules ahead of time and on a frequent basis will show your child how important this subject is to you.  They may protest at times and say they do not like it or see it as an invasion of privacy, but in the end they will appreciate you having their best interest at heart and recognize your concern for their safety.

One of the best things you can do is sign an agreement with your child about their conduct online.  Here are age appropriate ones that you may want to use.

Hailey & Ryan S. deliver food to Lighthouse Shelter

carrying food into Lighthouse Shelter

Ryan says:  We delivered some food to the place called the Lighthouse Shelter.  Its a place where people can go tot get food because they are hungry and they don’t have any money to buy themselves any food.  We brought them food because they said they really needed some help and so we asked what they needed and we went to Target and got some of the things.  And then my sister Hailey and I delivered the bas to the Lighthouse Shelter.  Well I hope the people can have some food now.  (6 years old.)

Hailey says:  We got to Target and mom got some food for the Lighthouse Shelter.  Some of the things we got were peanut butter, cans of vegetables, cherieos, rice and strawberries.  It made me feel happy to give to people who can’t afford money and now they can have some food to eat so hopefully they will like the food we gave to them.

I like doing this, maybe I will be able to do it alot but I want to help buy the food next time.  I am looking froward to be helpful to the Lighthouse Shelter.  It was fun!

PS.  At first I didn’t want to write this but now that I did I feel real good.

Aiden C. Contributes Care Bears to Prize Project

More than 30 Care Bears

After years of collecting these beautiful little bears, they are now going to be prizes for children who have undergone surgery  at John Hopkins Pediatric Unit  in Baltimore.  Thanks to Aiden the children there will be comforted by these soft  and cuddly gifts.

Two of our favorite care bears

Dangerous Trends Facing Children: What Causes Eating Disorders?

When we talk about confidence in oneself we must look at the idea of having confidence in our mind and body.  For years now we have been learning more about eating disorders and how they affect some in our society.  Each of us though can be a ‘gatekeeper’ in identifying and helping those who may be partaking in any of these destructive behaviors.  How can we identify them?

Anorexia nervosa –  Those suffering with this BEHAVIOR do not eat enough food because they think they are too fat, even though they may be very thin.

Bulimia nervosa – Those suffering with this behavior will eat and many times overeat and then purge after overeating.

Binge-eaters – cannot control the amount of food they eat.

So how is it that individuals develop these behaviors?  For many they do not see their  behavior as being self-harmful, and were only trying to deal with or solve another problem.  After doing some research here are the some of the most common causes of eating disorders:

  • Major life transitions
  • Family patterns and problems
  • Social problems
  • Failure at school, work or competitive events
  • A traumatic event
  • Major illness or injury
  • Other psychiatric illnesses (triggered biologically, or previous obsessive compulsive symptoms)

It is not really known why some individuals might develop these disorders and others will not but given the list from above, there are things to consider that may help you see if a person or even yourself may have a propensity to develop an eating disorder. Continue reading “Dangerous Trends Facing Children: What Causes Eating Disorders?”