Using Apps to Keep Track of Your Kids this Halloween

Every kid wants to enjoy the fun of going house-to-house with friends in the dark trick-or-treating on Halloween night. Many of us parents remember the sheer joy of running through the neighborhood in the dark with friends collecting ungodly amounts of candy. Back then, our parents sent us out the door and let us go. Sure, they worried about urban-legend-inspired razor blades in apples, but didn’t worry as much about stranger danger as we do today or reputation damaging photos on social media.

Today, things are a bit different. Sending our kids off into the the dark isn’t something we are all comfortable with. And while many neighborhoods around the country have designated trick-or-treating events to keep children and families safe, sometimes that is not enough to reassure parents worried about sending kids off to trick or treat with friends or to attend a Halloween party.

Halloween Safety Tips for Parents and Children to Help Keep Your Family Safe

Make sure costumes are safe. Kids don’t want to be restricted in how they wear their costume, but tell your children that there are some common sense rules they should follow. For example, make sure they keep their faces exposed so they can breathe and that their costumes don’t cover their eyes. Discourage them from wearing full masks when trick-or-treating in the dark. Of course, flame-retardant costumes are a must to prevent fire accidents and be sure it’s the right size so they don’t trip over it.
Increase visibility. Make sure your child wears bright clothing or even small reflectors. No one wants to worry about their child being hit by a car if they aren’t able to be seen. Encourage younger children especially to choose light-colored costumes. Give them glow sticks and flashlights to carry with them so they can be seen by drivers.
Travel in groups. Older kids are going to want to trick-or-treat on their own, without a parent. If they do, make sure they go with at least one friend, preferably more.
Monitor social media. Remind your children to think about the consequences of a picture before it’s posted or messaged to anyone. Halloween is a high traffic time for photo sharing. Monitor your kids being tagged, or comments being made about their spooktakular attire. The MamaBear App can help you monitor your child’s social safety.
Track your child’s location. Install a family safety app like MamaBear on every family member’s smartphone so you can monitor your children’s whereabouts. The app allows your children to check in with an emoticon to share where they are and how they’re feeling. Children can also request rides from parents or send SOS messages if they are in trouble. Alerts can let you know if your child has indeed made it to that Halloween party and when they leave.

Thankfully, parents have resources today to keep their families safe during the free-for-all that Halloween night can be. Reminding your kids of these safety measures and monitoring their location and social activity provides peace of mind while allowing your children to enjoy all the candy, haunted houses and other Halloween fun we loved when we were kids.

For more child safety tips visit the MamaBear blog or follow us on Facebook.

Image Credit: Kids Activity Blog

October 24, 2013October 6, 2015

October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month

national-cyber-security-awareness-month Did you know that October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month? The month is a time for educating the community – especially families – about cyber security and internet safety.

According to StaySafeOnline.org, National Cyber Security Awareness Month was created ten years ago as a way for government and industry “to ensure every American has the resources they need to stay safer and more secure online … Cybersecurity is the mechanism that maximizes our ability to grow commerce, communications, community and content in a connected world.”

If you have a child with a smartphone, you know how easy it is for him or her to become lost in a world of apps like Kik, Instagram, Snapchat, Vine and a growing list of other social media geared toward young people. As we spend more time on the internet, online predators are sharpening their skills and internet know-how so to better take advantage of innocent victims. Not to mention, cyber bullying cases that we hear about in the news on what seems like a weekly basis.

According to the Stop. Think. Connect. initiative of the Department of Homeland Security, “As technology advances, so do the techniques cybercriminals use to gain access to our computer networks. If each of us becomes more aware of cyber security risks and implements a few simple steps, we can all make a big difference.”

The Stop. Think. Connect. site includes resources to help you and your children learn how to stay one step ahead of cybercriminals.

Spread the Word

The best way for families to lead safer lives online is to educate themselves and then spread the word. “The Internet is a shared resource and securing it is our shared responsibility,” write the folks at StaySafeOnline.org. “Everyone has a role in securing their part of cyberspace, including the devices and networks they use. Individual actions have a collective impact and when we use the Internet safely, we make it more secure for everyone.”

It is especially important to reach our children with guidance on how to keep their information safe. Parents can help their children become smarter, savvier internet citizens by teaching them about cyber security during the month of October and year round. While teaching them about cyber security is crucial in this day and age, it is also important to use a family safety app like MamaBear to monitor their online and social media behavior to ensure that they are safe from online predators and bullies, until they are mature enough to protect themselves.

Want to help promote cyber security? Tell your workplace, your schools, your churches and your local government to promote NCSAM so all can share the responsibility of increasing awareness of cyber safety and making the internet a safer place for all. “Everyone can do something—even if you have less than one hour to devote to this effort!

Image Credit: The Tech Herald

October 2, 2013November 20, 2013

Cyberbullying: Schools Monitoring Social Media

Why Spying is Not the Same as Monitoring

There has been a good deal of media buzz lately surrounding new questions about social media monitoring in our nation’s schools. More and more K-12 schools are monitoring their students’ social media behavior as a way to curb rising rates of cyberbullying and the unfortunate tween and teen suicides that often result from extreme cases of online bullying.

For example, according to a recent article on NPR.org, the Glendale Unified School District is spending $40,000 to have a third party company monitor social media use among its students. “School officials want to know if the kids are posting suicidal thoughts, obscenities or comments intended to bully fellow students,” the article states.

In the article, Justin Patchin of the Cyberbullying Research Center questions new school programs that monitor students’ social media behavior, unbeknownst to them, as a way to stop cyberbullying and other dangerous behaviors before they start. Patchin said he doesn’t recommend schools spying – monitoring kids without their knowledge — “because they’ll find something they have to confront their kids about,” he told NPR, “and is your kid ever going to trust you again?'”

Another article at DigitalTrends.com addresses a similar sentiment: “The Internet is full of nightmares for parents and educators worried about safety,” the article says. “And it probably always will be. But does that make it appropriate for a school district to hire professional social media snoops to digitally tail their students’ moves online?”

While the issue of monitoring can be complex, the team at MamaBear Family Safety App ultimately commends the Glendale Unified School District and other school districts nationwide for being proactive in dealing with a very real, very concerning threat to kids’ safety: cyberbullying. While ultimately monitoring is first and foremost a parent’s responsibility, the district can be a good role model by demonstrating to parents the importance of monitoring social media, and their intentions to protect children are good.

However, parents shouldn’t be complacent by thinking that schools alone should be paying attention to students’ online behavior. Parents must do their part by monitoring their children’s online behavior for signs of cyberbullying and self-destructive behaviors with a family safety app like MamaBear.

Spying or Monitoring?

It’s important for families to build trust among each other. Parents ultimately make decisions to protect their children, but also should respect their children’s need for their own space. And kids should respect their parents’ choice to take safety precautions. So we think spying on our kids is not in a parent’s or child’s best interests.

There is a clear difference between spying and monitoring.

Spying is secretive. It happens without a person’s knowledge. It’s a dirty trick, a way to gather information behind someone’s back.

Using a family safety app like MamaBear provides a way to monitor a child’s behavior. Monitoring, unlike spying, happens with the child’s knowledge and opportunity for more relevant communication.

Keep it Out in the Open

Our recommendation is to not put a monitoring app on your child’s phone without their knowledge or benefit to them. It’s not a good idea to spy or snoop on a child’s phone, just as it’s not a good idea to put a secret video camera in their bedrooms or read their diaries. Instead, openly monitor and talk to your child about why you’re monitoring his or her location and social media behavior.

There are good reasons to use a family safety app like MamaBear, and those reasons can be shared with your children. In many cases, parents don’t trust predators and bullies, and being alerted to the suspicious behavior of others can help you warn them about the consequences their behavior may indicate.

Ultimately, monitoring – whether by schools or by parents — is about safety. While some children might not like the idea of being monitored, others take comfort in knowing that someone has his or her back if something like cyberbullying or interaction with an online predator puts them at risk.

The MamaBear app helps parents around the world worry less about their children. Download the app today for iPhone devices here and Android devices here.

Image Credit: Fixers

September 25, 2013September 24, 2013

Emergency Disaster Plan – Is Your Family Prepared?

Recently, the Ad Council released a humorous family disaster preparedness PSA that went viral. The 60-second spot on behalf of FEMA’s disaster readiness program raises awareness about disaster prep. It features a family discussing an ironic un-disaster-plan. The family discusses the things they will contribute in the case of a disaster, including a duffle bag full of things that aren’t helpful, a generator without gas, cell phones that don’t work and more. It’s funny and definitely has caught some attention.

“And, who’s going to handle supplies?” Mom asks.

“I can forget to do a list for us,” the teen son answers.

“Well, I think we couldn’t be any less prepared,” Dad says. “I’m proud of you guys.”

According to a CNN article, the Ad Council surveyed 800 adults across the nation about emergency preparedness. “Six out of 10 American families said they did not have a family emergency plan,” the article states. “Only 19 percent felt they were ‘very prepared’ for a disaster.”

September is National Preparedness Month. What better time is there to create a family disaster plan?

It’s currently hurricane season in the south and in a few months and it will be blizzard season in the north. But disasters can strike at any time, in any place, to anyone. It’s important for families to prepare how they will handle disasters when they happen.

The MamaBear team spends a great deal of time and energy keeping parents informed and children safe while using of the MamaBear Family Safety App which can prove to be helpful during a disaster.

Creating a family preparedness plan doesn’t take long and will provide each family member with peace of mind knowing a plan of action is agreed upon during an emergency situation. Here are some things to consider:

1. A Family Affair

According to FEMA’s Ready.gov website, “preparing for emergencies shouldn’t fall on your shoulders alone. Young children and teens alike need to be part of the process — for their own safety and sense of empowerment.”

What does preparedness involve? It involves sitting down and talking about a disaster communications plan. Certain questions should be answered at that family meeting. For example, who calls whom in the case of an emergency? What are all the contacts – home, school, work – where family members can be reached during an average day?

At the meeting, your family can also build an emergency kit that includes key emergency necessities like food, water and first aid supplies.

2. Imagining Disaster

In addition to discussing a plan, compiling crucial contact information and creating an emergency kit, you can also prepare by role playing what you would do during a disaster. Who takes on what tasks? Hold fire drills in your house so everyone knows how to escape safely in the event of a fire or other disaster.

These things might seem silly, but acting out a disaster can bring a family together in a fun way while helping everyone to imagine how to behave in an emergency situation.

3. Helpful Resources

“Before an emergency happens,” says FEMA, “have a family discussion to determine who would be your out-of-state point of contact, and where you would meet away from your home — both in the neighborhood and within your town.” FEMA helps families do this by offering a useful family communication plan form that can be printed, filled out here and kept in the home for referral in the event of an emergency.

FEMA’s ready.gov site is an excellent resource with details on how to prepare for a disaster as a family. Redcross.org offers another disaster preparedness site that includes specific information on how to prepare for hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, and fires.

Hopefully, your family will be spared from disaster. But if something terrible does happen, having a family disaster plan will empower each member of your family to take action and stay safe.

Share with us in the comments below your family’s emergency disaster plan.