Digital Citizenship Week: October 16 – 20, 2023

When kids go online, whether they’re playing multiplayer games, using social media apps, or posting their latest creative expressions, it’s important that they understand how to keep their private information safe. With tips on how to avoid scams and protect their personal data, tweens and teens can travel all over the digital world — and still be in charge of their digital footprints.

Four Tips:

Use Privacy Settings
Read the Fine Print
Discuss online scams, clickbait, and “special offers.”
Understand how tech companies make money.

For More Information, visit Common Sense Education: https://www.commonsense.org/education/family-tips/6-12-privacy-and-security

Most kids will encounter mean behavior at some point in their digital lives. For some kids, this experience is a blip that’s easily forgotten, while for others it can have deep, long-lasting effects. For parents, the key is staying involved in kids’ lives — both online and off — so they can step in and offer help if necessary. With guidance from parents and educators, kids can learn how to dodge the drama and stand up for others.

Six Tips:

Define Your Terms
Check in About Online Life
Role-Play
Encourage Upstanding
Take Breaks
Review Worst-case Steps

For More Information, visit Common Sense Education: https://www.commonsense.org/education/family-tips/k-12-cyberbullying-digital-drama-and-hate-speech

As tweens and teens start sharing content and engaging with others online, it’s important for them to understand the tracks they’re leaving behind and what those tracks might reveal. Parents can help guide kids toward creating the kind of footprint they can be proud of.

Four Tips: 

Be A Role Model
Use Privacy Settings
Look to the Stars
Search Yourself

For More Information, visit Common Sense Education: https://www.commonsense.org/education/family-tips/6-12-digital-footprint-and-identity

From phones and tablets to streaming movies and YouTube, tech and media are everywhere. Kids love easy access to TV shows, games, and information. Parents and caregivers love that kids can stay in contact while they explore their independence. But it’s easy to overdo it when the phone never stops pinging and the next episode plays automatically. Families can keep media and tech use in check by following a few simple practices.

Five Tips:

Create screen-free times and zones
Explore built-in digital well-being tools
Model the behavior you want to see
Help kids identify healthy behaviors
Understand how tech companies make money

For More Information, visit Common Sense Education: https://www.commonsense.org/education/family-tips/6-12-media-balance-and-well-being

So much of kids’ social lives happen online. Whether they’re texting with their study group, flirting on social media, or voice-chatting on game platforms, middle and high schoolers can learn to communicate in safe and healthy ways. These skills will help kids — and the people they’re communicating with — have positive experiences online.

Four Tips:

Give Them the Right Words
Learn About Their Worlds
Empathize with the Pressure to Overshare
Develop the Instincts

For More Information, visit Common Sense Education: https://www.commonsense.org/education/family-tips/6-12-relationships-and-communication