Privacy is a major concern when using Facebook. Pretty much anyone can find out information about your toddler even though you may have their page in total lock down. It is difficult to keep your toddler’s profile from being viewed by total strangers. The best privacy on the internet is not to post at all. Remember, pictures can say more to other people than parents mean them to say.

Toddlers really don’t understand the concept of social networking. To them, the people around them are their social network. They perceive things with their senses and not words on a screen. While they may admire a picture or two, they aren’t going to be that interested in posting updates or keeping up with other family members.

They also have a knack of doing the wrong thing at the wrong time. This means that random clicking can turn off privacy settings, open up unwanted ads, and do other things that you don’t necessarily want done.

Lately, Facebook has been inundated with objects and images that you don’t want your toddler to be exposed to. These types of ads are not easily avoided. They seem to invade at the most inconvenient times.

Toddlers are really too young to grasp all of the intricacies and pitfalls of Facebook. They aren’t yet ready to have friends that they can’t play with.

It just isn’t a good idea to expose your toddler on Facebook. A toddler’s world revolves around things they can see and imagine. Things they can interact with. Facebook just doesn’t provide the stimulation that they need.

A computer and USB port is required to load the books onto the Tag system. The books have to be set-up and loaded before you use the system. It does connect to the online program where your child earns rewards to be printed out. It should be noted, that you will have to set up an account before you can load up the pen.

There are some books that are available online — although your child might do better by having the book in front of them, rather than listening to the story through the pen. It’s also easier to play games with the books handy.

For parents, the download and reward demands can be a hassle. The reward thing is especially annoying since it keeps popping up. There should be a way to disable it,  since not everyone is keen on printable bookmarks.

The other issue was the price of the actual books. Even on clearance, they can be quite pricey. At over ten dollars a book when on clearance, you won’t be tempted to buy too many of them to go with the system. Of course, prices on the books do vary depending on location and store.

Kids do love the system though. They do like holding the pens and listening to the stories being told to them. The pen is a natural fit in their little hands. It is also easy for them to hold and use. If there are siblings, they will fight over the pen.

The price for the pen itself is fairly reasonable at under $30.  Again, this is dependent on where you live and what store you go to. However, throwing in a few books can put this gift well above the $50 range.

If you plan on it as a Christmas gift, you will want to open the package and put the books onto the system before Christmas Day. The other thing is to inform family members so they can pick up a book or two for your child.

Facebook is completely unnecessary.  You see your friends all day long at school;  if you want to talk to them you can call them or text them or go over their house.  Why do you need to know what people are doing 24/7?  I mean, did I really need to know that your dog was sitting on you or that you pulled an all-nighter? If I wanted to know what you were doing or how you were, I would ask you. Also it is a HUGE safety issue.  A little while back a girl posted on Facebook about a party she was having and forgot to check her settings.  Fifteen hundred people showed up and quite a few people got hurt.  To read more about this click here.   Nonetheless, it is stupid mistakes like that that make people think that Facebook is a pointless thing that is completely unnecessary and dangerous.

But at the same time, that was just an accident.  Her settings must have gotten switched by accident, so it wasn’t her fault.  Well, it was, but it was accidental.  Facebook is a great way to get to know people that you may not have normally talked to at school.  And, not everybody has a phone, so that’s another way to talk to your friends.  Or if a friend moves and doesn’t have a phone, again you can talk to her through Facebook.  When used with responsibility, Facebook isn’t that dangerous.  If you are smart about what you do and what you post,  it really isn’t dangerous at all.  If you make sure you keep your settings on what you should (I keep it on friends of friends which means my friends and their friends can see my post and page), it becomes very easy and safe..  You just have to be intelligent about what you do on Facebook.  If you are going around swearing and acting inappropriately, posting pictures of yourself making out with your girlfriend, you will get a reputation and it won’t be a good one.  As I said before, you have to be wise with your postings.

I, personally, actually think Facebook is a great invention that does have its flaws just like any other invention — which is why you have to be wise about what you do, just like in life.

I have been accused by my teenage daughter of being a Facebook creeper. No, I’m not looking for a boyfriend, as I’m happily married, and I don’t want to follow anyone’s movements; I am just concerned about my children.

Of course teenagers and those without children may be appalled that I admit to sometimes creeping on my kids and their friends. I’ll admit, the term does conjure negative thoughts, yet I do feel compelled to check the statuses, pictures, and posts of my kids and their friends. In my defense, I do so only sparingly, and I rarely comment on anything posted.

Do you want to know what I’ve found out? Lots. Read below for some of what I learned, and why it sometimes pays to be a creeper.

1. Too much information.
You may have heard this before, but many teens divulge way too much information on Facebook. For example, when my family went on vacation, my daughter let “the world” know we were out of town, and how long we would be gone. As you can see, this type of information could inadvertently be used by “friends of friends” in a negative way (burglary).

2. Too much skin.
Teen girls may not realize it, but they can attract the wrong type of attention if they post pictures of themselves in bikinis and short-shorts. The same goes for guys who pose with their shirts off. No, I am not a prude, but with so many people having access to these photos, it is dangerous for teens to present themselves in a sexual way.

3. Too many expletives.
@#$ &!! Many users of Facebook regularly drop the “F bomb” and other expletives in their posts. Of course I know that swearing is a fact of life, maybe even a rite of passage for some, yet these words only serve to paint a negative picture of the teen using them.

4. Too much time.
Some kids spend too much time updating statuses, posting pictures, and commenting on other profiles. Instead of doing homework or interacting with others in person, some children may become obsessed with this activity.

As you can see, from a few minutes of creeping, I’ve been able to address some concerns with my child that I would not have otherwise known about. In today’s digital world, sometimes it does pay to creep.

Except it doesn’t work that way. Like the old AIDS commercial, your child isn’t just friends with everyone on their friend list. They are also exposed to everyone on their friends’ friend lists through cross-postings on “the wall.”  Even limiting it to just friends and family may not be enough. It can be hard to explain why your child cannot be friends with sweet teenage cousin Susie, who posts comments that would make a sailor blush.

The Internet is a big scary wasteland filled with material wildly inappropriate for young eyes and predators waiting to entice your child into all manner of awful things.  Working with as many teenagers as I have over the years, I have seen families absolutely torn apart by improper and unsupervised use of the Internet.

The Internet is also the greatest informational resource in the history of the world.  There is too much good there to take an Amish stance and ignore the technology that has transformed the world.  But as wise parents and good stewards of the gift of children, we cannot turn a blind eye to the rampant misuse of the Internet, either.

The only answer that I know is — supervise.  Make time to sit with your child.  Buy an “Internet Cop” software to track their usage.  It is OK to let your child know that they have no reasonable expectation of privacy on the computer and that you WILL be checking everything they do.  That very well may lead to conflict in the short term, but it will also lead to a happier home in the long run.

First off, there are some pros to allowing children to join social sites.  In my own family, I am able to share pictures with my nieces and nephews.  They are able to stay on top of my daughter with us living 720 miles away.

I am able to communicate with them in the medium of their generation, online.  My oldest niece, who lived on the west coast her whole life, and I have been able to bond greatly through chatting and social sites.  Now that she is a grown woman with a child of her own, I love sharing stories and quick comments with her.

However, I feel there are many cons.  For example, I am a heavy aircraft maintainer in the military, and my friends are not all that “cultured.”  They occasionally leave comments, pictures, etc., that are not for young eyes.  I try to censor what ends up on my page but am not always successful.  I only hope that I can get to the page before one of my young nieces and nephews does.

Both Facebook and MySpace have age limits of thirteen for all members, but there are many young ones who lie to become members.  Much of the content and comments is not even appropriate for teens.  When people talk about how they got drunk or met someone it shows up on the wall for all those who are your friends.  Young ones get enough of these messages from media and TV, but now seeing it glorified by those they trust is dangerous.

I am not a big fan of self-promotion, but this is the major reason I wanted to start my social website this month.  Inspire Tomorrow is a Christian website where it is safe for people of all ages.  There needs to be a safe place somewhere on the Internet.

First off, I am going to give you the basic run down on American movie and TV rating systems.  First off, TV:

• TV-Y (All Children — This program is designed to be appropriate for all children)

• TV-Y7 (Directed to Older Children — This program is designed for children age 7 and above.)

• TV-G (General audiences)

• TV-PG (Parental guidance suggested)

• TV-14 (Recommended for people 14 or older)

• TV-MA (intended for mature audiences)

• G (General Audiences- All ages admitted)

• PG (Parental Guidance Suggested- Some material may not be suitable for children)

• PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned- Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13)

• R (Restricted- Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian)

• NC-17 (No One 17 and Under Admitted)

There is no official rating system to music, but radio stations generally will not play rude music.

These are the official rating systems, but they are not always accurate.  Also, as a parent you may be worried that watching an R-rated movie will have negative effects on your child, but he or she is exposed to plenty of this content anyway.  At school, we children learn many things that you may not even imagine us knowing.  At the same time, don’t just give your kid free reign.  Every child has a perfect age to be exposed to content of a mature theme. Some kids are not as mature as others, period.

Also, we have more access to it than you think.  At certain friends’ houses, I might watch TV after 10pm and can watch M-rated shows. The same is true for R- or even NC-17 rated movies online!  You can get music online also, but it generally it is less graphic.  Finally, if you are overprotective, the child may have a hard time in the real world.  It’s not like the world is G-rated!

Parents, I’m not asking you to have NC-17 movie night with you kids.  Just…don’t try to be too protective, it won’t help.

Now, some of my thoughts on screens (TV, video games, computers, etc.) for kids.  First of all, I believe they are addictive.  Some studies have shown that video games are addictive, they release a drug-like chemical. Here is one article on the study of video game addiction.  I have seen kids at school who are addicted, it’s all they talk about or do after school (World of Warcraft is the most common addiction).

Also, there is a link between screens and obesity.  Sure, there are games like the Wii Fit that exercise you,  but how much of an exercise are they?  To me the Wii Fit doesn’t provide a serious workout, and most games in it are not as effective as believed.

I think screen time for children should be limited.  Screen time should be decided on a child by child basis, but on a school night anywhere from no time to an hour and a half a day is good.  For example, if a child is doing poorly  in school, limit the amount to a low number (for example zero to half an hour).  On weekends, up to four hours a day is a good amount.  I have noticed that kids who are allowed to use screens more get worse grades.  That is because instead of doing homework when they get home, these kids game or watch TV. Also, in class, these kids will think things like, “I need to level up my dwarf mega super warrior” or “What’s on Fox tonight?… oh, it’s that comedy show” instead of “Two plus two equals four”.

These addictions can cause physical injuries, too, such as the ones mentioned in an older Level Revel article, Injured by Living in a Virtual World (Thanks, Bea).

Screen time should be limited because there are many dangers lurking around the corner!

When I was growing up, I had the local or school library and our collection of encyclopedias to learn new facts and world history.  By talking to my parents, elders and other older kids, I was able to pick up on tricks to do things more easily and even learn to fix my bike or whatever else I wanted to know.  Although all of this knowledge and wisdom was invaluable, I was limited to what these people knew (good or bad) and the currency/accuracy of the books in the libraries.

Today’s youth can learn nine different ways to patch a hole in their bike tire without ever asking a single soul.  They never even have to leave the house or the bedroom to write a single research paper even.  If they are truly resourceful, they can connect through the Internet to experts in the field they are studying.

However, does having all of this knowledge pose a safety threat to children?  My first experiences with the Internet in the late 90s were all ones I wouldn’t want my kids to experience.  I had friends who downloaded a book titled, The Anarchist Cookbook.  This book taught you how to make bombs, fake IDs, and gave young devious minds many more tips that we were not mature enough to grasp.  Luckily, my friends were smart enough not to try most of the suggestions.

There are still those sites out there today that show videos of people trying stupid things, teaching how to pick locks and build some pretty bad stuff with just a few clicks.  I am not trying to scare you or create mass hysteria banning the youth from the Internet.  Rather, I want to inform our children not to try this at home OR anywhere else.

My wife strongly prefers to preview the programs before Max gets to see them. This works well with TV shows. I generally can get a yea or nay on a show before the first commercial break.  DVDs have gotten easier to preview & judge thanks to the wonder that is Netflix.  We’ll get a movie from Netflix and preview a bit of it the night before we let the boys know it’s here.  If it’s a stinker, we send it back, and we’re only out a couple of days worth of movie watching.

Movies are trickier.  There’s only one way to preview a movie that is playing in theaters.  There is no way I’m spending two hours and $8.50 to watch a kids movie without a kid so I can determine whether or not I’m going to have to spend another two hours and $17.00 + snack money to re-watch the kids movie with the kid. That’s just not happening.

Sometimes I ask other parents, but I’ve found that the definition of ‘age appropriate’ can vary drastically from parent to parent.  That has proved relatively ineffective, unless I can find a parent who is on the same page as me AND has seen the particular movie I’m interested in seeing.

There are plenty of websites that will weigh in with their opinion, but you’ve got to get into sync with the mindset of the writer or it is even less effective than the parent-friend referral.  I’ve even found that within one website, different reviewers will have different standards and, therefore, different levels of helpfulness.

My personal favorite is www.pluggedinonline.com.  Part of the Focus on the Family organization, Plugged In tends to provide informative reviews with a minimum of disdainful opining.  For each movie reviewed, the site lists Positive Elements, Violent Content, Language, Alcohol, and Other Negative Elements.

Does anyone out there have any other good sources for checking out a movie before showing it to the kids?