{"id":3654,"date":"2022-01-13T18:14:41","date_gmt":"2022-01-13T18:14:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=3654"},"modified":"2022-01-13T18:14:41","modified_gmt":"2022-01-13T18:14:41","slug":"are-your-kids-using-social-media-not-sure-heres-how-to-protect-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2022\/01\/13\/are-your-kids-using-social-media-not-sure-heres-how-to-protect-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Your Kids Using Social Media? Not Sure? Here\u2019s How to Protect Them"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Special to The Truth<\/em><\/p>\n<p>While most social media apps require that users be over 13 years old, this hasn\u2019t stopped many younger children from opening accounts, according to new research.<\/p>\n<p>The recently-released C.S. Mott Children\u2019s Hospital National Poll on Children\u2019s Health finds that 49% of parents ages 10-12 and 32% of parents of children ages 7-9 say their child uses social media. What\u2019s more, not all parents are monitoring their child\u2019s activities on these apps due to a range of factors, from lacking the ability to set up controls to not having the time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSocial media use poses a number of potential safety threats to children. With more children using social media at a younger age, it\u2019s critical that parents ensure their safety and teach them how to be responsible digital and social media users,\u201d says Michele Havner, director of marketing at Eturi Corp., maker of OurPact, a leading parental control and screen time app.<\/p>\n<p>Is your child using social media? Not sure? According to Havner, here are a few ways you can help protect them on social media apps and on other sites:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Open communication: Keep the lines of communication open with your child. Listening and being respectful will encourage your child to be honest with you about their social media usage and what they\u2019re encountering online.<\/li>\n<li>Set parameters: Whether it\u2019s only allowing your child to use educational social media apps, or enforcing a strict moratorium until they reach a certain age, set parameters that make sense for your child and stick with them.<\/li>\n<li>Set a schedule: Don\u2019t let digital devices overrun your family life. Setting a digital schedule can help ensure children still have time for homework, after school activities and quality time with family. Be sure to practice what you preach and set a good digital example.<\/li>\n<li>Proceed with caution: Before letting your child set up an account with a particular social media app, take a good look at what the app is all about to ensure that it\u2019s appropriate for their age group and individual maturity level.<\/li>\n<li>Get assistance: A parental control app such as OurPact can help you set a digital schedule, block inappropriate apps and websites, set safety filters and even get screenshots of digital activity. No matter how busy you are, new enhancements make it easy to get a handle on your child\u2019s social media use. With the ability to create individual profiles, you can tailor rules based on your child\u2019s age and other considerations. To learn more, visit ourpact.com.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cThough many school systems are adding digital safety and savviness to the curriculum, parents should fill in gaps by introducing children to smart digital habits, and by leveraging new tools and resources that help keep kids safe,\u201d says Havner.<\/p>\n<p><em>Courtesy StatePoint<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Special to The Truth While most social media apps require that users be over 13 years old, this hasn\u2019t stopped many younger children from opening accounts, according to new research. The recently-released C.S. Mott Children\u2019s Hospital National Poll on Children\u2019s Health finds that 49% of parents ages 10-12 and 32% of parents of children ages [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[97],"class_list":["post-3654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3654"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3654\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3655,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3654\/revisions\/3655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3654"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=3654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}