8 Tips to Keep Kids’ Identity Intact Online

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8 Tips from SoCal Savvy Mom and AT&T to Keep Kids’ Identity Intact in a ‘Share’-Happy Age

As a mom I always keep an eye on what my child is doing online, for us this is usually learning websites.  But you never know who is on the other side of the computer, even on kid sites.  Something crazy I just found out is in 2012, researchers estimated that more than 80 percent of children under 2 years old already had a digital profile!  Yes, an online presence of some kind mainly because of their parents’ online activity. Additionally, older children spend almost eight hours consuming media every day through TV, online games, mobile apps and social media.  8 hours!

Kids are growing up online more publicly than ever before. Embarrassing photos and videos that used to be reserved for family are now wafting out over the Internet and onto social media networks.  Below are some tips on how to keep your children safe in the ‘share’ happy world we now live in.

  • Think before you share. Could this photo or video come back to haunt your child or your relationship with him or her? Is this something they will want in their digital portfolio? Some things are better stored in your heart and memory instead of on the Internet.
  • Share judiciously. You don’t have to go all or nothing. There are many ways to share photos online with distant grandparents that don’t involve putting them in the public domain. This is an issue for us as my in-laws live on the coast in Florida, and they are not the most digitally savvy.  One way to send them the photos without over-sharing on social networks is to set up a password-protected site on a photo-sharing site such as Picasa Web Albums™. Apps such as Evernotelet you do much the same thing from your handheld devices. DayOne is an app for journaling that lets you selectively and easily share entries with others. You can also use Facebook privacy controls and photo albums more than most of us do to limit who sees which photos on that site.
  • Be part of your kids’ online world. As kids begin to venture online themselves, run alongside the bicycle for as long as you need to. Insist on having your kids’ passwords to their Facebook pages and know what’s going on in their online lives—just as you do in their offline lives. For young ones, make it fun with apps like Digital Passport. Check your middle schooler’s Facebook page to see if there are postings that might make them feel sad or bad—and maybe send a quick pick-me-up text. Friend your teens on Facebook; it’s a valuable glimpse into their world.
  • Help teens see their online postings through adult eyes. As your teens wriggle out of your online grasp, help them understand how adults view postings that they and their peers think are like totally hilarious. The college admissions officer or HR director will not be smiling. There are many people who have not been hired because of what their Facebook postings say about them.  We can show our kids real examples we all probably know someone in our own circle of friends who posted something and it didn’t end well.  Some young people who have had cherished dreams blocked by dumb pictures on Facebook is so sad, don’t let this happen to your child.
  • What would grandma say? Before you do anything with a camera, cell phone, or computer, imagine the person who means the most to you standing over your shoulder. If you’re OK with that person seeing what you’re about to do, go ahead. If not, don’t do it.  I think this is something that should be done in everyday if you wouldn’t do whatever it  may be in front of your parents or grandparents odds are you shouldn’t be doing it at all.

If you are more concerned with managing the amount of your child’s screen time, there are ways to help your kids develop balanced screen time habits with these three tips:

  • Online: Set firm rules and stay alert

Kids should clearly understand online time limits and consequences for breaking the rules. Keep computers in a common area of your home so you can supervise usage.  We never let our son play the computer or iPad within two hours of bedtime, we usually read books in the evenings.

  • Phone: Enforce appropriate behavior.

Set clear expectations for responsible smartphone use. There are tools you can use to restrict times of day the phone can be used for messaging, browsing, and outbound calling.

  • TV: Make TV a reward, not an expectation

Be sure that homework, chores, and family activities come first. Treat TV viewing as a reward for good behavior or completing tasks.  We have been playing a lot of board games lately.  The new games that are a hit at our house are Bounce Off and Pop the Pig, believe me Bounce Off is just as much fun for the adults as the children!

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San Diego Museums Free on Tuesdays

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As a public service the San Diego park organizations offer free admission on a rotating basis on the first four Tuesdays of the month.  Most of the museums are in Balboa Park but a few are outside Balboa Park.  Tuesdays the museums are free to San Diego City & County residents (with ID), active military & their dependents.  Please note: Some museums may offer complimentary admission to their permanent collections only and charge admission to special exhibitions or films.  Also note: Some museums may require ID for minors.  Due to large crowds and for visitor safety some museums may restrict entrance to strollers.

The Timken Museum of Art is always free.

The first Tuesday of the month the following museums are free:

The second Tuesday of the month the following museums are free:

The third Tuesday of the month the following museums are free:

The fourth Tuesday of the month the following museums are free:

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Parenting – Ever have one of those days?

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Ever have one of those days?  Your child didn’t sleep last night, so you are running on two hours of sleep. The one thing that will save you…your coffee, hot, caffeine filled coffee, only to find out you are out of coffee.  While you searching in the pantry for anything that could be considered coffee you hear a loud crash followed by scream.  You drop the coffee you just found, coffee grounds go everywhere, run towards the now crying child and find this (see below) your child covered in cheerios and milk.  How did this happen, like really how?  Is this my life?  When did that happen?  It is one of those things you don’t think about, but every stage as a parent we are worried about different things.

Baby – Bring baby home from hospital, now what?  Then you start worrying if they are still breathing, I can’t tell you how many times I got up in the middle of the night the first few weeks to check my child was breathing.  Yes, just breathing!  Mind you there is no reason my child would stop breathing, he had no respiratory issues, he was born full term, and completely healthy.  But I just kept checking, and checking, he was fine and never stopped breathing by the way.

Toddler – When your baby starts walking it is so amazing, you are so excited for those first few steps.  Like it truly is the most amazing thing you have ever seen and life could not be any more perfect than at that moment.  Unfortunately for me my child started walking at 9 months, cause he just wasnt content to just ‘t crawl.  For him crawling was just what he did until he could reach something to pull himself up on.  When your child starts to walk they fall, a lot.  So much so that your child will have bumps and bruises all over their body, and sometimes on their face.  You wonder if people think you gave your child that black eye, then you think screw them, and while you are thinking this your child just fell and bumped their head…again!

Preschooler – Your child can walk and talk and may even be potty trained, points to you if you did this before your child turned 3.  The scariest thing that happens at this point is they run off in a parking lot, or in a park or pretty much anywhere.  The other thing you start to worry about is silence.  Why don’t I hear anything?  Silence at this age means they are into something, something they know they shouldn’t be into. Has everyone seen video of the two boys who played with paint?  Google it, and be happy that it never happened to you.

School Age – Congratulations you made it to the first day of kindergarten!  You are excited for your child, also a little excited to have a little me time.  What you don’t know before this is how many different types of diets children have, unless your child has one.  No joke one child in my son’s class could not eat gluten, peanuts, or any nuts, anything with fructose and something else.  I just felt so horrible because I didn’t want to exclude a little boy who had enough restrictions, how do I bring in something with no gluten, nuts, or sugar?  In the end you learn there are things children with food allergies can eat.

We all have had one of those days because we are parents.  In the end we learn to enjoy those bad days because it makes us realize how special all the other days are.  Today for instance we are cuddled up on the couch watching Goonies = good day!

orion

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Cohn Restaurant Group special, you don’t want to miss this!

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Cohn Restaurant group is celebrating the new year with some delicious specials!  Some of our favorite eateries like 333 Pacific, Vintana, 100 Wines Kitchen, Indigo,The Prado and more are offing a special on 2 course menus.  The special offer is only $20.15!  This special is valid at participating restaurants Sunday, January 4th through Thursday, January 8th.  Don’t miss the opportunity to try the 2-course menu for the unbelievable price of $20.15.  For more information visit Cohn restaurant website here.

Cohn

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Encinitas Community Park Grand Opening!

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Finally after over two years of construction the Encinitas Community Park will be opening next week!  There will be games for kids, hot dogs and of course because it is Encinitas pro-skater meet and greets.  The park also has a dog park so bring your pup along and check out the pet health expo for your four-legged family member.

You are invited to join the City of Encinitas Mayor and City Council for a special “Day in the Park” Grand Opening celebration Saturday, January 10, 2015 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the new Encinitas Community Park, located at 425 Santa Fe Drive.

Grand Opening celebration festivities include ribbon cutting ceremonies for the Skate Park, Maggie Houlihan Memorial Dog Park and athletic playfields. Enjoy the day with a leisurely stroll along the park’s meandering pathways and read the many personalized pavers along the way; bring the family for a classic community picnic, commemorative give-a-ways are also in the works.

Encinitas Community Park is surrounded by a landscape buffer and includes a meandering dry creek with boulders; dense landscaping, decomposed granite pathway and al-coves with benches. The park also includes: paved walking paths and bench areas; five paved parking lots, two restroom buildings; a skate park totaling 13,000 square feet including a skate bowl and urban plaza area; a 2-acre dog park with a large turf area, a show circle and an area for large, small and shy dogs and their owners; and one soccer field, three multi-use fields, including two baseball and one softball field, and plenty of open turf areas to allow for unrestricted play. General park hours of operation will be 5am to 10pm, 7-days a week with the exception of the Skate Park, Dog Park and athletic fields, which will be from 8am until dusk daily.

encinitas park

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Free on NYE AAA Tipsy Tow & the Coaster

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Don’t be a statistic, don’t drink and drive this New Years, there are plenty of options that are free.  All North County Transit District modes will operate a “Holiday Schedule” on New Year’s Day. Regular service will be provided on New Year’s Eve.  The COASTER, SPRINTER, BREEZE, LIFT and FLEX will offer free service after 6 p.m., December 31st, and the COASTER and SPRINTER will run additional late-night trains.

An additional southbound COASTER train will depart Oceanside at 10:10 p.m. and arrive at Santa Fe Depot at 11:10. A northbound COASTER will depart Santa Fe Depot at 12:45 a.m. and arrive in Oceanside at 1:45.  The SPRINTER will have extended hourly service from Escondido 9:03 p.m. to 1:03 a.m., and from Oceanside 10:03 p.m. to 1:03 a.m. A final trip will depart Oceanside at 2:03 a.m. connecting with the final COASTER.  For detailed information about the Holiday Schedule and customer service hours, please visit http://www.gonctd.com/holiday-schedule-2014.

Statistics show that traffic-related fatalities increase significantly around the holidays. As such, the Auto Club sponsors a complimentary Tipsy Tow service on New Year’s Eve, which offers free rides to drivers who have been drinking. Tipsy Tow service provides a complimentary ride and vehicle tow up to seven miles from the point of pickup to drivers who have consumed alcohol on New Year’s Eve. Tipsy Tow service is available to members and non-members. Ask for a Tipsy Tow by calling 1-800-400-4222.  Stay Classy San Diego – Don’t drink and drive!

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