Before Allowing Kids On Social Media

Kristina: Welcome, impactful parent. Today we’re going to talk about things to consider before allowing your child on social media. Hello, my name is Christina compost. I’m the founder of The Impactful Parent. I help parents of school-aged children turn their chaos into connection with their adolescents. I offer free parent education videos every week, online courses, and coaching. If that wasn’t enough, I bring experts in their fields onto The Impactful Parent stage to teach you even more. Today I have a very special guest. Her name is Dali Rivera. Dolli teaches parents how to navigate bullying and gives bullying awareness to the masses. She helps parents concerned about their child’s safety and has a program called Diversity and Anti-bullying Academy.

Dali: Thank you for having me.

Kristina: What should parents know before allowing their kids to get on social media?

Dali: Oh, this is such a good question. I wish more parents would ask it. First, parents need to consider whether their child is mature enough to handle social media? Your child can encounter inappropriate images and videos, cyberbullying, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. Ask yourself, is my child mature enough to follow the rules?

Kristina: The mistake that parents make is they buy their child a phone. Social media has become an issue, but social media was never aforethought. It is an afterthought.

I’m an advocate of Gabb wireless. This is a phone that has no apps. You cant download social media. It is the best first phone for children. Before introducing social media and apps, I recommend parents test out the responsibility levels of their children having a phone. Period.  Without the distractions first.  If anyone wants to find out more about Gabb Wireless phones, go to www.gabbwireless.com/promo/IMPACTFULPARENT, and you will even get a discount on your purchase if you use promo code: IMPACTUFULPARENT

Dali, one thing that concerns me with social media is all the personal information distributed with the apps. Some apps even identify a location.  This all seems dangerous. Any recommendations for how you block certain activities? How do you keep your child safe in those kinds of scenarios if you’re going to allow them to have social media?

Dali: If you’re going to give your child a smart device, then implement monitoring tools. These tools can do anything from block content to give you reports on everything your child is doing on their phone.  It is also important to talk to your child about the boundaries and rules of their devices BEFORE you get them.  Tell your child that you will monitor their phone and request to see it from time to time.  Know your child’s passwords and set up expectations early.

One of the things that I’m seeing is children’s identities being stolen because they unintentionally give out information. Patient preditors will watch posts closely and even piece-mill private information together until they have enough private information that they can steal someone’s identity.  All your child has to do is accidentally record a video with your house number in the background or something similar.  

Kristina: Social media also opens up the door to another type of bullying. If your child is bullied online, what should parents do?  Do social media companies do anything about this?  

Dali: That’s a great question. I think most people know nothing happens. I mean, Facebook, Instagram, they’re so huge that they can’t help. When you report something, it might take months for them to give you a one-sentence answer. That’s it. In the meantime, you’re waiting and wondering, are they going to attack me again? Are they going to unblock them, and then they’re going to come back and retaliate? Instead, take a screenshot before you report them or before you block them. You want to collect evidence of what happened. You need to have evidence. Not all police departments have a cyberbullying Task Force.

Don’t expect the school to help either.  Sometimes the school feels non-responsible to help because the activities happen outside of school hours and off-campus.  Other times, the schools don’t have the resources to help either.

The laws have not caught up with how bullying of all types is happening.

Kristina: Are there any tools that parents can use to keep their children safe online?

Dali: Yes, there are so many tools out there. For example, the phone you just mentioned.  Go get a Gabb Wireless phone first and test the waters for maturity and responsibility. Don’t start with a smartphone. Also, use monitoring tools. They’re very powerful. Net Nanny is a good one. Bark and Kids Locks are also great. Some of these tools block everything and give you super detailed information like transcribing their text messages. Others are less invasive.  You got to do your research and pick out one that will be the best for your family.  

Don’t talk to your kids about online safety only when you get a phone. Do it repeatedly. Keep it in their head, fresh all the time so that they’re aware. It’s something that you need to continuously work on.

Kristina: And I hear that you do give free consultations to the audience, is that right?

Dali: That’s true. Yes, I do. You can book a free 30-minute consultation at www.dalitalks.com

Kristina:  Thank you, Dali!  Parents, contact Dali for all your bullying needs. But, until next time, we are just here to help!