Over at KQED News, Linton Weeks wrote a July 11, 2011 article describing the need and desire of younger children to participate in social network activities (despite the expressed doubts of many parents). In his article, 10 Safe Social Networking Sites for Younger Kids, he lists ten kid-friendly social networking sites along with editorial comments on topics such as privacy and parent administration options.
If I were writing the headline, I would use the word “safer.” Why safer?
A good site is critical, but ensuring safe(r) social media activities also requires savvy, but not too intrusive, parenting. Parents walk a thin line between encouraging a child to explore and providing guidance when an activity veers off in a direction that requires adult supervision (or at least a parent checking in from time-to-time).
And don’t forget, regular family conversations about digital citizenship and web-savvy behavior make everything in a child’s digital world safer and more secure.
Other related digital parenting posts on MediaTechParenting include:
- Kids and Parents Need to Talk About Those Very Public Digital Mistakes in the News
- Choosing Screen Names – 5 Tips
- 7 Constructive Comments: Digital Kids to Parents
Media! Tech! Parenting! 