“Parenting” collection
Discover practical advice and innovative solutions for navigating the complexities of parenting in a tech-saturated world. This collection focuses on educational tools, responsible screen time management, and technology that supports family well-being and development.
HTD Tech Briefs
View all →June 30, 2014
Has the Magic Kingdom lost its Magic?
My family and I headed down to Disneyland a few weeks ago. It was to reward my kids for a successful year at school and a way for all of us as a family to do something together before we splintered off in different directions during the summer and even the coming years. So, I figured it would be good…
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June 23, 2014
A Quick Neighborhood Adventure Video – “Helping Echo” #EarthToEcho
I remember when I was a kid, we used to go outside and have adventures. Sometimes these adventures were simple, but many times they had complex plots and ran well into the night. We were not tethered to our homes in any way other than how far our parents’ voices could carry. Often, we simply gave a time when we…
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May 20, 2014
Less “Stranger Danger” – Kik Messenger Updates App Over Privacy Concerns
Back in mid-2012, I wrote an article about the "dangerous" combination of Kik Messenger and Instagram. The article turned out to be quite popular (and controversial) in a few ways. Parents didn't know about Kik nor how the "Kik me at" functionality was working with Instagram. Over 2 years later, Kik Messenger has taken a new approach to privacy and…
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April 9, 2014
Your Young Scientist Could Win $25,000 from Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge
If your middle-schooler has an aptitude for science, you might want to consider having them enter the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge. Not only do they get the opportunity to dive deeper into scientific concepts that they may be interested in, they also have a chance of winning the $25,000 grand prize and claim the title of "America's Top…
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October 14, 2013
Watch Out SnapChat Users! SnapHack App Can Now View & Save Photos & Videos Forever
SnapChat has always, in my opinion, been a controversial app. It has a very simple model, you can take pictures and photos and send them to friends and these multimedia files only are visible for a few seconds. Once the time passes, the videos or photos can no longer been seen. Teens and tweens view this app as a lot…
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October 4, 2013
Is K-12 the Appropriate Place to Teach Children about Copyright Infringement? Huffington Post Live Interview
I remember back in the 1980's (ok I'm dating myself) when my friends and I used to make mix-tapes and music compilations and shared them amongst ourselves. It was a multi-hour process and we poured our creativity and thoughts into making the perfect tape. There was no thought in our minds about whether what we were doing was "legal" or…
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June 5, 2013
Parents Be Warned! Ask.fm is a Dangerous & Deadly Social Site for Teens & Tweens
Back in 2012, I wrote about some potential dangers surrounding the Instagram and Kik Messenger combination. By now, hopefully many parents know what to look for and how to combat this social danger. Recently, I started to investigate a new social danger for kids, specifically Ask.fm which actually has a few documented teen suicides attributed to the service. Interestingly, it…
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May 29, 2013
It Can Wait – Texting Ends Lives – #ItCanWait Campaign (Sponsored)
Technology is a great tool when used properly. But as it becomes ever prevalent in our day-to-day lives, it can move from being simply useful to life-ending. With all of our connected gadgets, we are in constant communication via social networking, phone calls and texting. And now this is moving into our vehicles. As we enter into the 100 most…
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May 10, 2013
Wake Up! Mother’s Day is Almost Here!
In case you didn't know it already, Mother's Day is right around the corner. Heads up to daughters and sons everywhere, it's time to think about the person who hopefully nurtured you through the developing stages of your life and has provided you with ongoing support and unwavering love. However, I think it is important to not just think about…
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May 8, 2013
Did You Miss Us? We’ve Been Licking Lemon Ant Butts! Cast of Dads Podcast #57
Yep, we're baaaack! Have you ever tried to organize the lives of 5 busy dads who are dispersed across the country and time zones? The image of herding cats comes to mind. The desire to record our Cast of Dads podcast is there, the free time, however, is not. Yeah, excuses, excuses. We did manage to all get on a…
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April 17, 2013
Remember the Evil. Embrace the Good. Talk with your Kids.
Take a bucket full of water. Pour some oil into it, not too much, but enough so that is forms a small blob floating on the surface. Now find a large rock and drop it into the water and oil. What happens? Obviously there is a splash. And if you look down in the bucket, you see lots of smaller…
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April 10, 2013
Social Media Policy for Families
Quite a few years ago, I came up with some Social Media Guidelines, primarily geared towards businesses. I realized I also seem to write a lot of tips and recommendations for parents on how they can help their kids with social media. That got me thinking. Perhaps, I should come up with a social media policy for families (kids and…
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