In this tenth episode of the Cast of Dads podcast we discussed a very important topic that all parents should seriously be considering, that of educating your children about the various social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. This is particularly personal to me as my oldest daughter (a “tweenager” – pre-teen) is starting to ask more about various social networking sites, AND, has pointed out that many of her 5th grade friends are already on Facebook. This is even despite the fact that Facebook and other social networking sites state that users MUST be 13 years old or older to have an account. Children are introduced to other types of social networks at a very early age through virtual worlds like Webkins or Club Penguin so it is only natural that the more “adult” oriented “worlds” like Facebook or MySpace have a strong appeal. They want to “grow up” fast, but this is truly a scary concept, especially if you allow your children to do this without some sort of education or monitoring from the parents’ side.
However, before I go into the details of the contents of this important podcast, I wanted to mention an announcement that appears at the beginning of the podcast. It’s a promo for The Boom Effect which is an auction and fundraiser for another dad and one of the founding members of the podcasting community, Tee Morris, who recently lost his wife and will be raising his little girl known as “Sonic Boom” on his own. We encourage you to donate, spread awareness and help in any way you can for this important cause. So far, over $20,000 has been raised for this cause!
In this 10th episode of Cast of Dads, we really dive into our thoughts on how to educate and protect your kids in their online adventures. This podcast isn’t just for the dads, it is for ALL parents out there who are struggling with how to work with their children and their online actions. Topics covered include:
- Kids getting on Facebook (Under 13 not allowed)
- COPA Law
- Oh Snap It’s Violet
- Should Facebook have more parental controls?
- Teaching children online values
- The Next Great Generation
- The digital trail we all leave online
- Social Media Guidelines
- Todd Defren’s “Team Before Tweet”
- The Don’t Be Stupid Rule (Olympic snowboarder pictures)
- Be Upfront
- Camera that captures your life
- School Laptop webcam privacy case
- Digital Nation
- Open conversations on mobile phones
- Candid Camera
- PleaseRobMe.com
- Blog Design – roll your own vs. hiring a designer
- The hotness that is the new Dad Labs
- Dadsourcing
- Our search for guests (e-mail us if interested)
If you have questions or ideas for topics that you would like us to cover (remember, between all of us we have 13 children ranging from newborns to young adults), just send us an email to [email protected] or tweet us at @CastofDads! Also, our podcast listener base is growing! If you are interested in sponsoring our podcast for an episode or a month, be sure to contact us!
As always, the full podcast is available on CastofDads.com and now on iTunes. You can also listen to the podcast below:
Cast of Dads – Episode #10 “Kids Online & How To Do It Right!”
If you are interested in sponsoring this podcast, please leave a comment on the Cast of Dads site, send an email to castofdads@gmailcom or leave a question/comment on my Contact form.
Cast of Dads is a group of podcasting and blogging dads who gather to gab about fatherhood. The cast of dads includes C.C. Chapman, Jeffrey Sass, Max Kalehoff, Michael Sheehan, and Brad Powell, who collectively represent 13 kids from the youngest of babies to full grown adults. Each of them brings a unique perspective to being a father.
HTD says: It’s absolutely essential that you discuss Social Media and Social Networks with your children so that they can get the tools to protect themselves and make good judgment calls. Be sure to subscribe to our Podcast on iTunes and give it some comments & ratings! And send us some questions!
