Seriously, I know that you are probably cringing as you read the title of this blogpost, but cringing isn't going to help our digital families.

As parents we have to dive into some of those uncomfortable topics in order to guide our children on the digital highway.  Now, more than ever, we need to have those conversations about pornography and inappropriate images, so that our children know and understand our values and expectations.

As we are grappling with the pandemic AND lockdown AND more time spent online, we can be sure of one thing - our children have more opportunities to view porn. Now don't get me wrong, most children are not searching for porn online, but they may stumble upon it by accident.

So what's a parent to do?

Enroll in this free online parent's course from Culture Reframed, whose mission is helping young people thrive despite a hypersexualized culture.

Culture Reframed has created a best-practice toolkit, which will help you raise...

WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THIS GRAYSCALE STUFF?

Some of us love black and white movies, but today, the vast majority of movies are made in full, bright, robust color.  Why?  Because, duh, colors stimulate us and on the big screen this is just plain VIBRANCY.  But what about on little screens?

When we think about iPhones and iPads, we may not always want or need that vibrancy.

Think of it this way: would your child find his favorites cartoons VIBRANT if they were in black or white?  Or what about your daughter’s favorite TikTok videos? Or your son’s favorite Minecraft gamer explaining something on YouTube?  I think we can all agree, that using grayscale will reduce some of the vibrancy and perhaps some of the attraction.

Not convinced? A few brave souls have tried living the grayscale life and reported back.

•  “My smartphone usage plummeted overnight when I activated grayscale mode.
• If you want to use parts of your phone in color,...

If you haven’t heard, Michelle Obama wrote a book touted as “an intimate, powerful, and inspiring memoir by the former First Lady of the United States.”  And then she did a book tour talking about the book. She went from city to city, country to country, talking about the book, her childhood, her days at Princeton, Harvard and her law firm, her marriage and her time at the White House.  Pretty standard stuff here.

But THEN, in her book, on page 387 to be exact, she had the audacity to write, “I will never pretend that words or hugs from a First lady alone can turn somebody’s life around…” AND I BEG TO DIFFER.

Michelle Obama – YOU . . . WERE . . . WRONG. 

That special hug and words of encouragement that YOU gave ME on April 16^th has turned my life around.  (See below for the conversation as much as I can recreate the words and giddiness).

You spoke to a spectacular...

I co-wrote this free, downloadable handbook with Janice Richardson (the creator of Safer Internet Day) for the Council of Europe. The handbook is a guide for parents, educators, children and policy makers. You will also find another free CoE guide, the Internet Literacy Handbook, in the Files section of the Digital Parenting Community group on Facebook. ENJOY!

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Children today live in a rapidly changing world with expanding horizons. Technology has brought not only new experiences for them to enjoy, but a whole new dimension to their daily life in an ethereal world that we know as “being online”. Children and young people, therefore, should have the values, skills, attitudes, skills and knowledge and critical understanding necessary to confront with the challenges posed by the digital technologies and internet as well as to benefit from a wide range of its’ opportunities.

The Digital citizenship education handbook - Being Child in...

The month of February is coming to a close and I wanted to end Black History month with one final celebration of the successes of Black Americans in the United States.

As an African American lawyer, law professor and eSafety consultant, I thought it would be timely to write a post on Black achievements in technology and science to inspire all children of color.  Several Black tech pioneers laid the groundwork for technological advances that are proving beneficial in the digital environment as well.

Here is a sample list of remarkable achievements:

• Lewis Latimer (inventor and draftsman) helped draft the patent for Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone and he worked for Thomas Edison as well.
• Mae C. Jemison (Astronaut) was the first African American woman space traveler in 1992 aboard the shuttle Endeavor.
• Dr. Shirley Jackson (theoretical physicist) was the first African American woman to earn a PhD in nuclear physics at MIT.
• Marie Van Brittan Brown...

Hey Digital Parents,

Let me ask you a question, what do Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday all have in common?

Give up?

Digital Literacy and Critical Thinking.  I know, right.  You weren't expecting that.  Let me walk you through this.

Thanksgiving: every year, millions of Americans celebrate Thanksgiving with family get-togethers across the country where screens are as familiar as turkey and pumpkin pie.  This Thanksgiving, (no parent-shaming here), enjoy your tech, but throw in some limits and opt for more thanks and more giving together.  Critically think about how you want your family to remember the holidays; think balance and boundaries; think about storytelling and creating memories.  (If you need ideas for device-free dinners, check out these tips from Common Sense Media.)

Black Friday and Cyber Monday: you see where I'm going now.  Black Friday and Cyber Monday will tempt you with the latest, greatest deals in tech...

I started following Amy Carney on parenting after a girlfriend shared some of her blogposts full of spot-on tips - and I fell in love with her style and advice and just plain ol'  common sense.  As a mother of two young boys, I was mesmerized by this woman who made parenting 5 children including 3 triplet - BOYS look easy peasy.

But one of her newsletters had me reaching out to ask if I could share it with my Community. And Amy graciously said YES.  Below please check out her newsletter and you can see her social media contacts at the end of the post.

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Happy Fall Y'all! 

Is it seriously already mid-October? How did we get here already?

Maybe you've noticed that I've been missing from your inbox recently. All things summer and finishing my book manuscript have kept me super busy. Dear friends, the good news is the book is all turned in so stay tuned for updates on that excitement!

In even bigger news, my husband and I courageously threw...

In 2018, Expats Paris, launched the first conference, Paris Talks, as a platform for provocative and disruptive ideas about the future of humanity.

The conference format is short, powerful, inspiring talks, combined with entertainment and networking opportunities.  Conference issues range from fields of technology, art, and design, to science, environment, humanities and more.

The main focus of the conference is to pose questions about the future, such as, "What does the future look like?"  "Can anyone ever predict what the next century will be like?" 

I was invited to be a speaker at the 2018 Paris Talk and I spoke on the subject of Parenting, Children and Education in the Digital Age. 

Below were the key points for my talk, but as you can see from the video, I went a tad off-script after listening to some of the speakers.  I wanted to really engage the audience and drive home my concerns and support for digital parents: communicate with your children...