Parental Monitoring- Ensuring Internet Safety of Teens from Intimidators Online

Whenever we talk about cyberbullying, we always focus on the victims but never think why did bully do this? As cyberbullying is growing so dramatically, it’s time we looked at the both ends of cyberbullying. According to the psychologists, in most of the cases, bullies themselves need help to control their misplaced anger. Today, the Internet safety for teens is becoming important not only to protect them from becoming a target of bullies, but we have to ensure online safety to stop our kids from becoming bullies. Web monitoring is not an option it’s a must-have today!

Treat both ends of cyberbullying equally

Apparently, cyberbullies seem very bit mean and dangerous to all of us but the truth is that it's their misplaced anger which they exhibit by bullying others. At times, bullies could bully because they are being bullied by other kids online and to avoid abuse from other kids, they hurt and harm and hide their fears. Social Work Degree Guide shared an Infographic which enhanced my knowledge and understanding of cyberbullying, so I’m sharing it with you; have a look:

The biggest cause of the bullying attitude could be a result of misplaced anger or bullies may be suffering from abuse from another bully online or could be by a family member. We have to understand what victims go through after bullying incidents and also what is the secret life of bullies. Such abusive behavior could be corrected by anger management, interventions and psychotherapy for bullies, but it’s only possible by staying connected with them 24/7. Try to stay in touch with whatever kids do online, it can help you to make Web a safe place to surf and interact.

And here, web safety apps come in handy. These apps are pretty useful because they let parents keep an eye on their kids’ online activities and thus can help them pin point of something is disturbing. There are certain websites and apps only meant for cyberbullying like Burnbook, etc.  There is a mobile parental control app called FamilyTime which is getting popular among parents. This app is capable of letting the parents check their children’s phone usage stats, locations and the web history.  With FamilyTime, parents can:

• View web history on their child’s phone remotely 
• Track all their bookmarks with URLs and other details 

Parents have to install the parents’ version of the app- FamilyTime - Dashboard on their phones and then install the child app from their online dashboard on child’s iPhone or Android phone. The app then collects all info and web history from child phone and uploads it on the FamilyTime - Dashboard app.

This way, you can keep an eye on your children’s online behavior and can make them responsible digital citizens. And if you feel like your child is developing the traits of a bully, you will be better prepared to handle the situation. The FamilyTime - Dashboard app is free and can be downloaded from the Google Play and iTunes app store or from the buttons below:    

   

With this smart parental monitoring app, FamilyTime, you can stop your kids from getting mean online and can prevent their likelihood to become a victim, too. FamilyTime is a feature-packed app to avert cyberbullying so you can try it too. Switch to smart parenting today and take your part in ensuring the Internet safety for teens!

EJ's First Communion

Our son, EJ, had his first communion on May 3rd.  It was  another big milestone for him.  He wore the tux that I got for him from BlaclnBianco. He was very excited but also very nervous.  I think he got that nervousness from me.  Whenever I have something new come up, I am always anxious and he is the same way. The big sister told him that it's easier than having the first confession.  

 It also gave me time to take some photos.  We went to church early because I wanted his nerves to calm down a bit before the ceremony starts.

 He was so anxious that he was going in and out of the church.  I had to follow him to make sure that he won't get mess in his clothes s we don't have time to  change him if that happens.

 I don't really remember  us having  ceremony like this for our first communion.  The only  thing official ceremony that I remember was when I was confirmed as I was already an adult.

 It makes me so happy that I was able to experience this for my kids.

 My daughter's classmate/friend encouraged her to  serve with her in the altar that day and I am glad that Ms. Burrito  agreed because she ended up liking it and we signed her up for it.

 An official photographer was there to take photos before the ceremony starts.  While he wwas cliking, I was taking snaps as well.

 Mrs. Plesa is a big part of both of my kids  lives.  She was their second grade teacher and she  does all the things about this event.

 Took some photos too with his classmates.

EJ did really well during the entire ceremony.  All of his nervousness went away as soon as he saw his friends.

 Fr. Manny  stopped by and have some photos taken with us.  Thanks Father.

  Our neighbors, the Howells, are always there to support us and I am so happy that  we have a family here in the neighborhood.  They're the one that always there for our kids and I thank God for them everyday.

In times like this, I  really do miss my family because  I know that if they are here, they will never miss to attend.

 I thank God for this beautiful day.  The ceremony went mighty fine and we all had a great time afterwards.  

Motivate Your Child Action Plan

My husband attended a leadership training  dubbed as Center for Serving Leadership.  He was skeptical in attending the  training but he ended up loving it as he did not only learn about leadership at work but he also learned stuff about parenting.  He said that the  guest speaker is a God-fearing family man who uses   examples about what he have experienced personally and thru working with other people.  I was smiling when he was telling me the story because  I was reading this book called "Motivate Your Child Action Plan"  by Dr. ScottTurnasky and Joanne Miller.  

 Being a parent is not an easy task.  Our children are different and that they have their own individual personalities.  Having said that, sometimes, we are put in the situation where we don't know what to do  and don't know how to address the issue we are facing with our children.  There are even instances where I  question my ability as a Mom, sometimes I asked myself if I am doing the right thing.  I don't think there is one parent who have never encounter a problem with their child.

 I am so blessed to receive a copy of this book because it  gives me  new tools and different ideas on how to effectively handle things about my kids.  I love that  it serve as an outline  where we can use it  in our daily parenting style.  As my kids grow up, I notice so many different things changing in their character thus  gives me different challenges as well as a parent.  

 I love that you can write in it but I decided to  use post it notes on the succeeding pages.  This book sheds light in what I am doing  certain things the wrong way which I  completely agree.  This  is a great guide especially if you have  children that are totally different from each other.  Everyday is a  learning process with parenting so I am so glad I have something to reference to when I am having a hard time.  

This book not only give parents the tools but it also give  you that time to reflect and reconnect with your children.  Having this book gives me  effective tools  to  address the issue  that I have with my kids.  I admit that they are not  major issues but  knowing that we can correct  whatever we are doing wrong in certain ways makes me feel good.  There are times when I want to talk to my Mom about something but I can't since she is so far away so having this book somehow gives me that tool to  handle the issue.

You can buy this book on sale for $29.95 with an online savings of $10. This book is  geared towards crafting a unique strategy to propel your child forward.    You can also use the code below  to have an additional $5 off to an already discounted price.  

Royal Blue Kids Locker

One of my pet peeve is disorganization but when you have kids, it is hard to stay organized.  That's my main  issue especially with my  daughter because she love to do  so many things at a time  which creates chaos in her bedroom.  I am working with her in addressing the issue though and she is getting better at it.  I have designated a hook to put their school bags inside their  closet but it always ended up in the couch or in the floor which frustrates me at times.  I am so glad to have one of these school lockers  from SchoolLockers.com, a division of the Jorgenson Industrial companies.  I chose this royal blue kids locker because both of my kids love the color blue and they can share with this  one for a while.  I am planning to buy another one in the future as I have seen how high the wuality of their lockers are.  

Few dents but we straightened it out

Whenever I ask my husband to assemble something, the first thing he looks foris the manual so if the package does not come with one, he  freaks out lol.  I on the other hand is  different, I don't like  reading manuals when assembling something.  I like to look at the product and figure out how it goes.  Sometimes it's easy and sometimes, I have to take it apart or redo it again wich the hubby doesn't want to do.  He wants to do it according to the direction so he doesn't hav to redo it again.  

Since this locker did not come with the direction, we have to look at the picture at their website.  We played a guessing game in assembling this locker as there are two  kinds of screws.  When we started assembling it, we thought, there's oly one size of screws so we started using it.  When we get to the keg opart, we realized there are four longer screws that needs to be used on that part so we have to unscrew them again.

We got it done eventually after an hour lol.  Other than the lack of direction, I am very satisfied with this locker as they are heavy duty.    We only found  two dents  but we straighted it out  by tapping it gently with the hammer.

My son love this locker, he said that he is ready to play footnball lol.  He said he would love to have this for himself so he could  put all his  stuff in there.  I told him that I would save some to buy another one for her sister so they don't have to share.

I love that the materials are not flimsy,  they really make this locker a heavy duty one.  Another thing I have to point out is the number of screws, we need three more screws for the hooks.  We only use one screw for the three side hooks because we did not have enough.

Daughter immediately claimed the top part for her memory box.

She also put her shoes at the bottom  so I have to hear my son say "How about my shoes?" Oh boy, I could never win with these two Buritos, they are always competing with each other for everything.

You can get any  color of this Kids Locker for $104.95.  I guarantee, you will love this as it is super heavy dury.  This tier kids locker  is 15" x 15" x 48".  If you buy one of these, you can  view the video  below  to see the step by step process in assembling  it.  It's late when I found this but for those of you who are planning to get your children one, here is the video.

I told my kids that if I have to see their bags anywhere in the house, I will  give this locker away lol.  Of course, I won't do that but the kids promise to store their bags inside the locker everytime they arrive from school.  Thank you very much SchoolLockers.com!

Disclosure: The author of this blog was NOT financially compensated to write this review.  I was provided with the products mentioned  in exchange of my honest  opinion which may differ from yours.