One of my favorite resources as a teacher and as a mom is Common Sense Media. I started using it years ago to learn more about movies and video games for my own children. They give straightforward information about why a movie or game has a particular rating and what is in the movie that might be objectionable. Then you can decide if it is okay for your child or not. You can imagine how thrilled I was to find out they were launching an educational side to their services in 2009. Common Sense Media has continued to grow and provide quality resources to teachers and parents. I would highly recommend that you include them in your thinking as you parent in this digital age. This week, 1st and 2nd grade classes watched and discussed this video from Common Sense. It provides a good analogy about how we interact online and in our neighborhood, and it gives three straightforward rules to follow when using the Internet.
1. Ask your parents first.2. Only talk to people you know.3. Stick to places just right for you.