Save It for Later: Manti Te'o, Kids Online Safety and More

This week: Manti Te'o and our kids' safety in social media, expressing emotions, Notre Dame cover-ups, the flu, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Save It for Later is a series wherein I share the best from the Web that I bookmarked throughout the week to read later, at week’s end, when I have time.  Here’s what I found most interesting and useful from this week.

In light of the Manti Te'o scandal, how do we talk to our kids about online safety?

With the fantastic and tragic Manti Te’o story taking the forefront this week, a story about a star college athlete being duped, or victim of an elaborate Catfish scheme, wherein he was tricked into believing a beloved online girlfriend had died then finding out she never even existed, I wondered how I could protect my children, who are a tween and teen regularly using social media, from falling victim to such pranks.  Of course, we discussed the situation and I was stunned at the knowledge they already possess.

Keeping the lines of communication open with my kids is key to keeping them safe online.  Also, online monitoring is vital.  Some of this I do with them knowing, some monitoring happens without them knowing.  Which is better?  Check out these two articles from NetFamilyNews.org:Tech Intelligence for Parents as a start:  

Important granularity on Net risk for teens: Study

The trust factor in parenting online kids

Take some time to explore NetFamilyNews.org.  This site is accessible and intelligent in its suggestions for parenting in the digital age, the age of social media.

Why is a fake dead girl more important than a real dead girl to Notre Dame?

Continuing with the Manti Te’o fiasco, he is alum of Notre Dame.  My beef with Notre Dame is that they have given more press time and more empathy in a situation that involves a fake dead girl when there is a real dead girl that is rarely mentioned.  A young woman was raped by a member of the Fighting Irish football team, bullied into keeping quiet, and later committed suicide.  I have much to say on this issue, but I’ll start by providing you links from several outlets reporting on this horrific incident:

Notre Dame Football Players Rape Cover-up – What’s in the News and What Isn’t

Notre Dame's Reaction To The Te'o Hoax Vs. Its Reaction To Sexual Assault Allegations

These types of stories obviously bring forth strong emotions.  As adult parents it’s sometimes difficult to know how to appropriatly express our anger and sadness in these situations.  Also, we need to  help our children appropriately express their feelings when tragedy, whether major or minor, comes forth via the media.

iPad App to help young children identify emotions

It’s our responsibility as parents to allow our children to have their emotions and give them tools for them to be successful.  This needs to start early in their lives, which brings me to my next great find of the week.  

There is a great iPad app called MoodyMonster Manor that according to Free Technology for Teachers,

“...is designed to help children learn to recognize emotions. Moody Monster Manor features twenty cartoon monsters that represent emotions that children commonly experience.
After meeting all of the monsters in Moody Monster Manor children can help the monsters deal with their emotions in four fun games (more games are in development). Children can help Hungry Hank make a snack, help Worried Wanda with her homework, and help Confused Carl match name tags to monsters. My favorite of the games is helping Scared Sam capture bad dreams so that he can get to sleep. To help Scared Sam capture the bad dreams students have to move their iPads left and right to shine a virtual flashlight on the bad dreams.” (Richard Byrne)

What strategies do you use to help your kids of any age develop tools to express their emotions?

Also in the news, the Flu and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

More things in the news this week include the honoring of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the flu epidemic that is severely affecting children.  Below are some informative links on the protecting your children from the flu and some fun learning activities for MLK Day:

Know What to Do about the Flu

Flu Resources for Parents and Teachers

Learning through Play: 6 Kid-Friendly Activities for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (younger kids)

Martin Luther King Activities (older kids)


What did you find most interesting on the Web or in the news this week?

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