The Blog of P.U.R.E. and Sue Scheff

Can you guess what crisis is affecting 25 percent of our children today? It’s not ebola or drug addiction. We can rule out measles and depression, because the answer is not a disease at all. The answer might come as a surprise to many, but  cyberb ullying is hurting one quarter  of our children. Unfortunately, cyberbullying might actually be more prevalent than previous studies have shown. In fact, recent data shows that the  rates of cyberbullying have actually tripled  within the last year!  The newer study estimates that 87 percent of our youth have experienced or been affected by cyberbullying. This is devastating for parents to realize, because all the education and awareness about this issue is not making a huge difference for our tween and teen populations. Tragic Consequences: Cyberbullying Matters October is National Cyberbullying Prevention Month and provides the perfect opportunity to make sure we are helping our families to delete this tre...

Your Child's Online Behavior Is a Reflection of Offline Parenting Raising children in a digital society can be challenging. Today kids are exposed to technology and are sometimes given their very own keypads in their first years of life. Generations earlier, the big talk was about the birds and the bees. Maybe parents would discuss this with us only a few times. A handful at the most -- sometimes not even that much in our adolescent years. Sex was (and is) a topic that many parents want to talk about as briefly as possible and then walk away. When it comes to the digital world, there is no walking away. The reality for today’s youth is that their online reputation will someday determine their college admission and very possibly their future employer. Every keystroke, post, and comment counts. Your child's online social skills are as critical as their offline people skills. Where do you begin? In tech terms -- by chatting . The tech talk is not a conve...

One of my favorite parts of being a Parent Advocate is being asked to share great articles, tips and resources to help parents today.  When I was asked to share this one, I felt it would not only help parents of teenagers, but younger kids too.  11 Ways to Keep Your Kids Safe on their Cell Phones Each new generation of parents face obstacles and menaces with which the previous generation never had to contend. The changing times have brought with them a new, more complicated world in which our children must learn to live, to thrive and, most importantly of all, to survive. Contemporary problems arrive without guidelines on the best way to teach our children to stay safe and protect themselves or precedents to guide us in teaching them. It is our job as parents to define the method and provide clear guidelines our children can follow and live with. But when you are in uncharted waters whose depths and dangers frighten you, how are you supposed to steer your children to...

June is Internet Safety Month and cyber-parenting is another aspect of parenting that we have to consider when raising teens today. As if parenting wasn't challenging enough, now we have the added fun of technology and the digital world. The Web offers a plethora of fun and educational things for kids to do, plus all the social networking that is huge for tweens and teens. But along with that comes plenty of places for danger. Just as parents need to talk to their kids about safety in the everyday real world, they also must discuss safety precautions related to the Internet, and make sure their kids get it. What can parents do? How do they start the conversation? It is important to cover the dangers – all of them – in age-appropriate language to help kids understand the dangers of giving away information online. Talk, Talk, Talk The most important thing parents can do is talk to their kids, tweens, and teens. Make sure they know the dangers that are prevalent online, ...

Unplug during mealtime. Be the role model. Parenting teens can be a challenging, however today with the addition of technology it can seem overwhelming. How are parents supposed to keep up with the ever-growing social-app age? Offline parenting is your best tool to online safety and helping your teen's make better choices when you are not with them. Having the tech talk is not like the sex talk. Talking about your child's digital life is a daily chat - one you should have frequently.  It should be as common as how was your day at school. Ask them: Have you discovered any new apps lately?  Any new sites? Any new friends online?  Remind them about pause before posting. Ask them to help you with your technology.   Be an interested and involved parent .  You need to build their trust and open lines of communication. One of the main reasons teens don't tell a parent or adult that they are being harassed online is the fear t...