Family Tech Blog

Tag: teens

A Parents’ Guide to Among Us

This is a Parents’ Guide to Among Us
This guide is intended to inform parents to help them make quality decisions for their families. The rating is based on my opinion of playing Among Us and viewing others playing the game as well.

The rating below is based on the game content. Online interactions will always increase the risk of unwanted content.

Violence – 3
Language – 4
Sexual Content – 5
Positive Message – 2
Monetization -2

Total Score – 16 out of 25
(The higher the rating, the safer the game is for kids.)

ESRB Rating – Among Us has an ESRB rating of 10+. It is rated 9+ in the app stores and Common Sense Media gives it a rating of 10+.

About the Game

Among Us is an online multiplayer game of social deduction, teamwork, and betrayal. You play as crewmates on a space ship or space station who are trying to prepare the ship for take off. You have tasks that you all must complete to win the game. The catch is that there is an imposter Among Us. This (or these) imposter(s) can sabotage your efforts to prepare your ship, they can also kill you or your crewmates. When a dead body is found, a meeting is called. The entire crew discusses what has happened and what they’ve seen that could give hints as to who the imposter is. They then all vote and if someone gets a majority of votes, they are ejected from the ship. If that person was an imposter, the crew wins, otherwise, it’s back to the ship to complete your tasks and hope the imposter doesn’t get to you first.

This game has a little bit of everything. There are simple puzzles, social interactions, mystery, and even some opportunity to be a little dark by killing your friends in-game. The graphics are simple and a bit silly, but the gameplay is so fun that it doesn’t matter. This is truly a social game and cannot be played on your own. There is a “freeplay” mode in which you can explore the map and get familiar with puzzles but it is really just for preparing to play online multiplayer.

Violence

One of the key themes in Among Us is murder. The imposter is trying to sabotage the ship by whatever means necessary. This usually includes killing crew members. You kill by simply tapping or clicking an icon when you’re close enough to a crewmate. There is then a short animation of your murder. Sometimes you slice them in half, sometimes your small companion (in-game purchase) will shoot them, and sometimes a spear-like tongue will come from you and pierce them in the face. While the animations are a bit graphic, they aren’t really bloody or gory, and they very cartoon/silly. The characters don’t look like humans, they are better described as colorful walking spacesuits so when they are killed, there isn’t much realism.

Language

There is no dialog or narration in Among Us. This means that there is no adult language in the game itself. This is a game, however, that is meant to be played with other people over the internet. When you play a multiplayer game online you are always opening yourself up to unsavory language. In Among Us, this happens in the chat which is used to discuss murders and vote out crewmates. There is a censor mode that is on by default. This censor will use symbols to block out adult language and other inappropriate comments. This doesn’t mean that players don’t use these words. You’ll often see sentences with words asterisked out and most of us can tell by the number of symbols and the context of the sentence what words were meant. It is nice that a censor is included and on by default, it is simple to deactivate with one click/tap and is not password protected.

Sexual Content

Again, there is no sexual content in Among Us. The style of the game doesn’t lend itself to that kind of material. This is another issue, however, that is greatly impacted by online play. While the censor mentioned above will block some sexual comments, most make it through. While playing the game I saw many players with suggestive usernames. Nothing obvious but definitely innuendo. When these names were commented on in chat, however, they were mostly met with annoyance by other players who just wanted to play the game and were therefore not amused.

In other words, there will always be people who think their immature sexual jokes and comments are funny but in such a social game you’ll also find a majority of players who aren’t interested in that kind of humor. These players usually kick out or shut down the inappropriate players pretty quickly.

Positive Message

I guess we can talk about teamwork and trust here but in reality, this game is just all about having fun. There is no real moral to Among Us, it is intended to be a clone of the classic party game Mafia but set in space. Playing with friends is easy through their local or private game settings and this allows for kids to have fun with friends even though we can’t be around each other all of the time these days. I think this is what made Among Us the breakout game of 2020 even though it has already been released for two years.

Monetization

Among Us does have in-game purchases but they aren’t game-changing. You can buy packs of costumes, skins, and even pets. The prices are between $1 and $3 per pack and the game is definitely playable without spending more than the $4.99 it cost on the PC. The mobile version (free for Apple and Android) has ads that can be removed for $1.99. I recommend removing these ads because some of the games advertised should, in my opinion, be rated for adults only.

What Parents Should Know

Among Us is a game that I have been playing quite often lately. It is easy to pop in and do a ten or fifteen minute round and then log off. I have played in public rooms with friends as well, that was quite fun as we were able to work together (trying not to cheat) to complete tasks and win. It can be a time drainer as you always want to play another round. I find myself saying “one more round” a few times before I actually quit the game. Like Fortnite or other online multiplayer games, kids aren’t going to want to drop out in the middle of a game so giving them a warning about getting off their screen will be better than saying, “Put it away, now!” Trust me, you’ll have less conflict if you say “Be finished after this round, alright?” and then hold them to that.

The only real danger in this game is from strangers online. While that is always a concern with online multiplayer games, rounds are so short and fast-paced in Among Us that there isn’t much time for “grooming” or bullying especially since there is no private or direct messaging. You can stay in the same “Lobby” to play with the same people but it is so easy to back out and go into another game if you need to that I wouldn’t expect too much trouble from people in chat in Among Us.

As with most games, my recommendation is that parents understand Among Us, how it works, and what their kids like about it. Know who they are playing with online and if they are playing with strangers, be sure they feel comfortable coming to you if they see something that makes them feel strange. This game is simple enough and quick enough that many parents should be able to play along with their kids some as well. Do this. It would be really fun for you to get into their world a little bit, plus you may just enjoy the game yourself.

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October 29, 2020
What Parents Need to Know About the Latest Gaming Tech

Technology is a significant part of all our lives, but more so for our children. After all, they grew up in an era surrounded by technology. In fact, our previous post on what your kids do online found that most, if not all, older children are very much inclined to spend their money on tech, such as new smartphones, Netflix subscriptions, and finally, video games. If given the opportunity, younger children may be equally invested in these things as well. Here is what parents need to know about the latest gaming tech.

Of course, that’s not to say that gaming is bad. Multiple studies have emphasized ways that video games can benefit your kids, from better coordination to sharper cognitive ability. But there are aspects that every parent should look out for when it comes to gaming tech, and we’ll introduce those in a bit.

What gaming tech should you expect your children to be on now?

Video games and technological advancements are heavily intertwined, and new technology comes and goes every year. This year, we’ve witnessed the next generation of consoles, with the newest Xbox and PlayStation coming out for the holidays. The metal core PCBs on these devices are built out of materials that allow for better heat dispersion, ensuring smoother performance even for high-end games. They also boast a lot of neat features like haptic feedback and motion-triggered 3D audio that aims to boost the gaming experience. Your children are definitely going to want one.

However, with new technology comes new threats, and you have to pay attention to what they are doing if you want to ensure they game safely.

What should parents be wary of?

Data Privacy

Users give a lot to access online gaming stores, such as birthdates and mailing addresses. The former is there to check the age of the user, which is needed to block them from certain games until they’re older. Mailing addresses are asked so the system can accurately compute for taxes when the user buys a new title. Both are equally dangerous when exposed. It’s highly encouraged that you get physical copies from your nearby GameStop or Best Buy instead.

“Always On”

Since much of the modern consoles’ features are tied to the Internet (such as streaming, social sharing, and online play), they will always have the option to have their built-in wireless connection turned on automatically. While this is convenient, it could also leave your kids vulnerable to breaches. Since a lot of games are single-player, have them turn off this feature when they don’t need to be connected to the Internet. This will lessen the chances of someone hacking into the console.

Motion Tracking

As mentioned, upcoming consoles will have a feature called motion-triggered 3D audio. This is where the console tracks the user’s movements so that the game’s sound is projected to where they’re seated. The biggest downside to this is that the game will ask for permission to track human movement in your house, which you shouldn’t give. Turn off this feature when it comes. If your kids want to experience 3D sound, you can always have them plug in some earphones.

Protecting your kids is not about taking them away from things that you deem dangerous. This will only make them want more, sometimes going behind your back to get them. Instead, support their hobbies. Work with, and not against them, to thwart the dangers that they pose.

October 8, 2020
2020 Back To School Tech Safety Checklist

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This school year is sure to be unlike any other. We are facing a global pandemic causing many schools to shut down and send students online. Parents shaming others for their decisions to send or not to send kids to the classroom. Political upheaval in an election year, and racial outrage all over the country are causing stress levels to increase too. There has never been a time when protecting our kids’ minds and hearts has been so critical for their education. This Back to School Tech Safety Checklist can help you enjoy the 2020 school year with your kids instead of losing your mind.

Back to School Tech Safety Checklist

Accountability Software

I hardly ever write an article about protecting your children on the internet without mentioning accountability software. This software will securely monitor the sites being visited on a computer or mobile device and report anything inappropriate. Most of the time this software allows you to customize the sensitivity of the system so that you aren’t being alerted for things that aren’t actual threats. Our favorite software, Accountable2You, allows you to adjust settings on multiple devices and will send you an email or text when something you don’t approve of has been visited. If the site wasn’t what the algorithm thought it was, simply login to the Accountable2You site and adjust the settings for that site so you won’t be alerted for it anymore.

Your child will likely be doing more and more work for school on their computer. (As if they weren’t already doing a ton of schoolwork online.) This means that they’ll be searching the web and using web based cirriculum. Accountability software allows you to give them the freedom to use their Chromebook or PC knowing you’ll be alerted if they happen upon something not intended for kids or education. You can even set up certain sites on “blacklists” that will alert you. This means their favorite gaming site or YouTube can be put on the list so you’re notified if they’re wasting more time than they should be.

Home Network Filter

Monitoring what your kids see online is a good start. It is definitly step one, in my opinion. Step two, or maybe step 1.5, is a content filter for your home network. A lot of newer internet routers and modems come with content filters that can easily be set up from an app on your phone. These filters will block most adult content from showing up on your child’s device. We’ve all had that experience where a seemingly innocent Google search resulted in an assault on our eyeballs with some crazy adult site that seems to have been intentionally named to show up if you had a typo in the search bar. Filters can keep those nafarious sites from showing up. Even if they are sought out intentionally.

Remember that a home network filter will protect your child on your home wifi connection. When they disconnect from it and use cellualar data, the protection will be gone. There are filter options for that, though. Circle is one of my favorite options. Bark is also a good resource since they have added time limits and content filters recently.

Screen Time Limits

Speaking of time limits, that is also something you need to consider while your kids are spending so much time using technology for school. The good news is that not all screen time is created equal. Experts are saying that creative or educational screen time for our elementary aged and older kids can be beneficial compared to time spent playing games or consuming video content. This means you can probably still give your son a bit of time on Minecraft or Fortnite after they’ve already been doing school work on the computer for four hours.

Gaming can relieve stress, playing games online with friends can provide some social interaction that they aren’t getting if they’re not going to school every day. These things are benefits of recreational screen time. Also, creativity can be stimulated by use of their screens. Minecraft is a great example, if your child is building a world in the game they’re doing a lot of important critical thinking and creative reasoning which is good for them. I encourage you to be aware of how much time your kids are spending on a screen and use features like Screen Time or Family Link to limit social media, entertainment, and gaming but don’t freak out about the extra time spent learning online.

Plenty of “Green Time”

Green Time is simply defined as time spent outside. Our kids need to run around, play, and enjoy the outdoors. Your younger kids can enjoy time on a playground or just running around playing kid games at the park while your older kids enjoy a sport, hike, or some other recreational activity. There has been research to show that green time improves attention span, relieves stress, and we have known for years that it helps kids’ physical health as well. Build in “Green Time” breaks for your kids during their online school day. If the school schedules their day for them, make sure you allow for time outside when the school schedule has ended. You’ll see them have better health, get better grades, and even have a better attitude. If you’re spending all day at home with them this year, you’ll be super grateful for that last benefit.

Communication

I emphasise the importance of communication in nearly every post I write, podcast episode I record, and in person presentation that I do. You have to talk to your children about their digital wellbeing. Kids are smarter about these things than you think. You may be surprised at how much they want to do the right thing. Encourage them to come to you when they see something inaproppriate, tell them you’re on their team and want them to have the best school year possible despite the crazy circumstances. Help them know you are a safe place to come about their digital lives and they’ll be grateful to know you are there to support them.

Adapt and Enjoy!

If I have learned anything during this crazy year its that you have to adapt and be abe to enjoy life right where you are. Hopefully these tips can help you enjoy this extra time with your kids. After all, when you count how long you have with them by school years rather than days, you may be happy that you got this time with them during this crazy phase of life.

August 11, 2020
Helpful Family Resources Concerning Race in America
This blog has been silent for a while. To be honest, I have been very busy learning and listening. I am not an authority on any of the most important topics of today. I am trying to see the world beyond my small town in Southwest Missouri and discover a world of people who are trying to find change. I haven’t felt that there is a need for education on protecting our kids online during this time of upheaval and division. I have quieted my voice, to try and amplify some others. There are a few voices that I have found very helpful during this time and I wanted to share them with the readers of the Family Tech Blog. I am including a video and links for three of these voices. Please check out the videos below and don’t stop there. Continue listening by clicking the links to their articles, channels, and podcasts.

Phil Vischer | The Holy Post – Race in America
- Phil and his cohorts Skye and Christian cover so many timely topics on The Holy Post Podcast. I highly recommend you subscribe.
The Bible Project – Justice
- Their entire podcast is loaded with great insight on what scripture says about our world and our role as God’s Image in the world.
Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man
- This series has several videos that you will find helpful in starting conversations with your children about race, racism, and justice.
These resources have been helpful to me and my family. We’ve been able to learn and have conversations that need to be had during this time. While, as one video series is aptly titled, these conversations can be uncomfortable, they are necessary. As a tech blog that is founded in faith in God and His way of living, justice is a priority. We shouldn’t protect our children from difficult topics, only dangerous ones. Open up to your kids about your experiences with race and racism and allow them to learn, grow, and listen with you.
June 18, 2020
Kids, Social Media, and COVID-19

Instagram bans Coronavirus filters.

There is a lot going on these days. We have to have some clarity for our kids when it comes to Social Media and COVID-19. As with any modern trend, Coronavirus has gone viral. Not just in the obvious sense. Filters on Instagram, which can be created and posted by nearly anyone, have been featuring images of the Coronavirus strain or filters that turn your face green and put the word Coronavirus above your forehead. Instagram has stated that they are afraid these filters are insensitive and possibly promote false facts about the virus. Because of this, the social media service is blocking all filter search results that use COVID-19 or Coronavirus.

Facebook, Google, and Instagram bringing CDC and WHO information to top of feed and search results.

“To help people get relevant and up-to-date resources, we will start showing more information from WHO and local health ministries at the top of Instagram’s Feed in some countries.”

Social media feeds have been used by companies to highlight certain relevant news stories like election days and disaster response information over the past few years. COVID-19 information is now being offered through these in-feed posts on your social media thread. The major difference is that these posts are being highlighted and placed at the top of your feed. The idea is that the best way to fight misinformation on social media is by providing instant access to correct information.

Google’s home page features an animated “DO THE FIVE” link that leads you to the five steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19 along with search results relevant to learning more about the virus. These tips are intended to stop the spread of false ideas about the virus that put people in danger. It is critical that we work together to explain the truth about COVID-19 and only get our information for trusted sources. I write this blog for parents and guardians to help them protect kids but many people simply need to know how to protect themselves from false information. Be wise during this unique time in our history.

Kids, Social Media, and COVID-19 Facts

Articles and Memes

There is a lot of nonsense going around concerning COVID-19 and much of it is in the form of memes. Images touting super cures or false prevention measures. Some are claiming government conspiracy and ways that they are lying to us. It can be difficult to weed out who is sharing facts and who is just making stuff up. The key is in the source. We have to check the sources of our information. Some guy in Texas isn’t going to have the super cure for COVID-19, some older lady in Wyoming doesn’t have an inside scoop on what the government is doing to distract us during this election cycle. If there is no source mentioned at all, ignore the content.

Memes play on our sense of humor or lack of trust. It is easy to believe someone telling us the government made a virus to distract us from something else when we kind of believe that sort of thing already. When our expectations are developed by the movies and tv shows we’ve seen, articles and memes can point us down the wrong path simply by appealing to those expectations.

Memes: A Parent’s Guide

Articles can be just as dangerous in times like this. We must know the difference between a news report and an opinion piece. When it comes to things like viral outbreaks opinion writing is next to irrelevant. If the opinion is from someone with relevant credentials who has been commissioned to write something to help the general public during this time, that’s one thing. Some guy on Medium, however, writing about how we should ignore certain CDC advice shouldn’t be taken seriously. He’s writing his opinion and it being on the internet doesn’t make it useful, especially in such a volatile time.

Once we learn to pay attention to the sources of our information we should be teaching our children to do the same. They need to know that there are people out there writing for entertainment or even with malicious motives in mind. Those people shouldn’t be used to form our opinions on anything, much less something as dangerous as a viral pandemic. Use wisdom, teach your children to do the same, and say a little prayer for those who have to be out and about protecting the rest of us.

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March 18, 2020
Family Tech Safety Tips for Social Distancing

I have written nearly 400 articles since 2016. Most of them are still relevant in today’s social media and internet safety climate. While we are all being asked to limit our social contact and kids are staying home from school I thought it would be helpful to put together some Family Tech Safety Tips. Here is a list of articles that can help in this time of social distancing. These articles speak for themselves as to how they can help your family during this time. Feel free to contact me on our Facebook Page if you have questions about keeping your family safe online during the next few weeks. Please use these links to help you keep your kids healthy and safe during this time. Our prayers are with you and your family as we all work together to make the right decisions to protect each other.

Accountability Software

TUTORIAL: How To Use Accountability Software

Filters

Circle is the WIFI Filter for You!

Messaging

Mobile Device Vocabulary Lesson 3: Messaging

New Video Series will Help You Find Your Favorite Parental Control Software

Educational Apps

New Tech Products for Your Youngest Children

Toys Teach Computer Science and Coding

Screen Time Limits

iOS 12’s Screen Time App Changes Everything!| Video

Android FamilyLink is A Great Parental Control Solution, Albeit with One Major Flaw.

Kids and Gaming

Fortnite Chapter Two | A Parent’s Guide

Call of Duty Modern Warfare | A Parent’s Guide

How “Kids Games” Give Predators Unmonitored Access to Children

Here is a link to the whole list of video game parent guides.

https://safe.becausefamily.org/category/gaming/

Staying Active

Ten Screen Free Things to Do This Week!

Social Media Troubles

Research Finds Another Link Between Social Media and Depression

How Your Teen Uses Social Media Differently Than You

Social Media, Globalization, and Our Kids’ Convictions

March 16, 2020
Turn Your Drawings into Playable Games with Doodlematic

Doodlematic lets you take a picture you’ve drawn on paper and turn it into a playable mobile game.

I met Martin Horstman, the dad who developed Doodlematic at CES2020. He talked me through how you can take any kind of art, as long as it uses the colors the APP recognizes, to create a real playable mobile game. They sent us their box set and we were able to play with it. My son had a blast drawing out games, especially platformer games that you had to jump from platform to platform an achieve goals.

To use Doodlematic, you simply draw the game on paper, take a photo of it, the APP processes it, and then you play. You can then share it in the Doodlematic app and other people can jump in and play your games if you’ve allowed them to be public.

How it Works

There are two types of games you can create on doodle matic. You can make the platformer, like I mentioned already, or you can make an Angry Birds style launch game where you shoot your “avatar” over to knock over targets. It’s all based on a series of different colors that create different types of objects in the game. Anything black is your platform or your ground. Red is obstacles, things that get in your way and end the game when your avatar touches them. Blue items are your goals and anything green is your character or avatar.

Your avatar jumps from platform to platform trying to grab the blue goals while avoiding all of the red obstacles. The app uses the colors to develop the Games behavior. This allows kids to basically make the game whatever they want it to be. The best part is there’s a lot of trial and error. I don’t know how many times my son drew something, took a photo of it, and then realized game just didn’t work properly. Not because the app was messed up but because his drawing didn’t allow the Doodlematic to do what it needed to do to make the game playable. Back to the drawing board, literally. Just a few fixes here and there and the games was doing what he wanted it to.

What You Get

Doodlematic comes in a box with notebooks to guide you through the game creation process. It takes you through a step by step tutorial showing you what to draw and how to use that to create the behavior you want in game.

Doodlematic is probably usable for any kid over three years old. Once they can draw a little bit and grab a pen or pencil, they can create a game in the app. There are some advanced controls you can set up that make things move back and forth constantly or make the obstacles do things. You can learn how to do that as you gain more experience in Doodlematic. However, all you have to do to get started is draw with the proper colors and play your games.

Apps like Doodlematic are great for kids because they teach them that trial and error process that’s necessary in developing any kind of technology. If you’re learning to code or if you’ve done any website building or graphic design you know that there’s a lot of times you start to create something that just cannot work. Then you have to go back to the drawing board. Doodleatic gives you a similar experience but it’s also still fun. It doesn’t take away any of the excitement because you know what you did wrong and can fix it.Then, suddenly, your game is working. That sense of reward and excitement is real and kids love it.

I have four kids. All of them have loved Doodlematic. My boys loved it. My Girls Loved it. My twelve year old loved it and my five year old loved it too.? I recommend checking it out at the website below and getting your family into Doodlematic and make yourself some games. You’ll love it.

ThinkDigital.com

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March 5, 2020
Snapchat to Offer Mental Health Support to Users

The post on Snapchat’s blog says they are trying to “create a safer internet.” Snapchat will offer mental health support to their users through a feature called “Here for You.” This feature will provide mental health resources and other information as a result of searches within the app that involve mental health topics.

“Here For You, which will roll out in the coming months, will show safety resources from local experts when Snapchatters search for certain topics, including those related to anxiety, depression, stress, grief, suicidal thoughts, and bullying.” Snapchat Blog

They are also adding features that promote a healthy mental state, with lenses, creative tools, filters, and a quiz. Snap claims to have always had their users privacy and security at the forefront of the design of their platform. The addition of “Here for You” is another step to promote safety and security for their users.

What Parents Should Know

What would cause Snapchat to offer mental health support to their users? Could it possibly be the outcry about social media being terrible for your mental health? Comparing yourselves to others, being called out for your own faults, bullying, and many other issues have caused our young people to be more susceptible to depression and negative self image. Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook, with their story features have allowed people to post with a false sense of ephemerality. This is the belief that what you post is temporary and therefore you’re safe to post what you want. Ephemerality is a myth on the internet and social media. When you post something online, it is forever. Snap Inc. is touting themselves as a pioneer of privacy and safety in Social Media but truthfully, they’ve created an ecosystem that allows more bullying, sexting, and bad advice than ever before.

Pointing users in the direction of professional mental health advice is a very good step in the right direction. In my opinion, however, it is just an attempt to cover themselves for a problem they’ve caused. It’s like a mechanic taking a part out of your car accidentally and then telling you they decided to replace it for you for free. You didn’t have as much of a problem until they caused it in the first place. Shouldn’t we expect that they would do whatever they can to make it right?

It’s Up to Us!

We, as parents, are the only ones truly looking out for the safety of our children. Every one of these tech companies has a fiscal reason to provide “solutions” to mental health problems. They all have shareholders screaming at them to keep their company out of the news except for the right reasons. Hearing that depressive symptoms is linked to social media is the kind of thing that will cause stock prices to drop. It makes sense that they would scramble to provide some kind of “band aid” for that issue. Be smarter than the average consumer and protect your own and your children’s mental health by keeping them from overuse of social media. Make your plan, set your limits and don’t be afraid to have the hard conversations with your kids.

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February 21, 2020
Tech Toys Teach the Love of Reading

Using technology to teach the love of reading isn’t new. Amazon and Barnes and Noble did it with their Kindle and Nook. Now we’re seeing products come out to help children love reading as well. The show floor at CES2020 had several products designed to teach the love of reading. Here are a couple of those products I thought were super unique and cool.

Bookinu

Audiobooks are a great way to consume content while you’re busy doing other things. Reading out loud to your children has been touted as critical for their development. Some products give your kids the ability to hear books being read to them but Bookinu allows the narrator to be you.

Bookinu is for children from three to seven years old. It encourages them to love reading through an easy to use app for parents. Moms and dads open the app and read any book they would like into the app. You put a sticker on the book and scan it with the Booking. The Bookinu will then playback your reading of the story through the Bookinu devices so that the child is hearing the book read to them in your voice. It is very easy to use and can be taken anywhere. It can store books internally so that you don’t need a wifi connection to play the content for your child. There is also a headphone jack and a speaker built-in.

Dipongo

“Dipongo is the first creative app for personalized stories mixing both real and virtual worlds.” – Dipongo Website

Using voice recognition the app chooses the right story for kids based on their likes and dislikes. You then use tangible objects to influence the story through photos and augmented reality. Kids create, draw, build, and mold to get the story to continue. The story changes somewhat based on what you choose to insert into the narrative. If you build a bridge to get over the valley they’ll cross it. If you take a photo of a plane, they’ll fly across.

Stories on Dipongo are co-authored with childhood and creativity professionals. The award-winning app was designed to educate kids on problem-solving, socialization, and contributing to a story. Watching the example on the show floor at CES caused me to smile a silly grin that wouldn’t go away. The cute characters and unique challenges are sure to keep your kids entertained for a long time, all the while teaching them some very useful skills.

Counterintuitive?

It may seem silly to use technology to try and encourage your kids to love a not so tech-centric activity like reading. Why not harness something they already use to encourage such a helpful skill. If reading out loud to our kids is such a great thing then an app that lets us read to them whenever we would like can only be super helpful. If we don’t allow it to replace the times we sit with them in person it can be a great tool. Using behaviors from Alexa and GoogleAssistant to read to our kids is neat but the voice of their parent isn’t being heard. Bookinu gives loved ones the ability to re-insert themselves into the read-aloud activity that is so beneficial.

Giving older kids a way to interact with stories through augmented reality and building with tangible items is a wonderful idea also. This allows them to get lost in storytelling in a way that they may have never before. Storytelling and creativity is critical and will always be skills that kids can harness to be successful in the future. Dipongo gives them a head start on those problem solving and storytelling skills.

The goal is to find tech that entices our kids to learn and gives them tools that they’ll need to succeed. There is a lot of tech out there that distracts our children and can even become harmful. I was excited to find these two options that give parents the ability to harness their kids’ love of tech to encourage a love of learning. The love of learning will serve their children well for the rest of their lives.

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February 3, 2020
These Apps Aren’t as Harmless as they Seem

Our kids use all kinds of different apps for many different reasons. Some for socializing, some for fun, and some for school and productivity. We don’t think twice about letting our kids use Google Documents or even the Bible app. Yet many of these apps aren’t as harmless as they seem. I receive messages from parents a lot asking if I have seen the latest awful thing people have done online. The answer is usually yes, and I am not surprised. For the last five years I’ve been learning about the digital/connected world our kids are growing up in and how it impacts our children and our families.

Something I’ve learned is that if there is a system or an app that can be exploited to do harm, those who wish to cause harm will use it to do so. You see it yourself in your Facebook comments as some friends think it is the perfect forum for their disruptive thoughts. Worse still is the story from Bark’s project that put a 37 year old mom on instagram posing as a 13 year old girl. The response was shocking with inappropriate pictures and requests filling her direct messages just minutes after posting her first picture. The social function in the YouVersion Bible App being used to groom potential predatory victims. Google docs being used by young people for bullying, secret messaging, and sexting.

It is shocking but I’m not surprised.

What is our response to this tendency for people to use something meant for good and using it for the worst intentions. We can’t hide our head in the sand and keep our kids from using technology at all. This just isn’t realistic. We won’t be writing paper letters and saying no to laptops for school projects. The only reasonable response is to take responsibility for our children’s safety ourselves. We can no longer trust the apps that they use blindly, imagining that no harm can come to them simply because the app wasn’t meant for harm.

We have to help our kids remember that the same stranger danger that is true when you’re six and at the playground is just as real when you’re fifteen and connected in direct messages by people you don’t know. I am not surprised by the nonsense that is happening on these apps. I just know that we, parents, are the only answer. People always find a way to ruin things that were meant for productivity or good. My advice is to talk to your kids. Help them know that. Tell them that if they are contacted by a stranger, even in an app like the Bible App they take caution. Remind them that they should say something if they see bullying online, even in a class Google Document.

Our children are surrounded by voices telling them all kinds of truths. If you aren’t creating a safe place for them to come and be open with you about their concerns then you’re making it hard for them to live in this connected world. Do your best to be who they need you to be. I’m here to help.

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January 31, 2020