A recent article by Naomi Schaefer Riley in the New York Post features the lack of parental confidence in a child’s ability to be responsible for their own security as a type of schizophrenia that looks something like this: little girls are wearing sexy Halloween costumes while college students are calling parents daily to make basic decisions about class courses and campus life. The article points to an “amorphous fear” of a culture that is not geared toward protecting children.

The concerns of this study are rooted in a simple truth: “When you stand for nothing, you fall for anything” (Alexander Hamilton).

According to a recent report from Aleteia, at the fall annual assembly of U.S. Catholic Bishops in Baltimore, scheduled for November 16-19, there will be a vote to issue a general statement about pornography as a “pastoral crisis”. The purpose of this general statement is to educate clergy, parents and young people about this crisis for families and society.

After ten years of fieldwork devoted to understanding what it means to grow up in a cyber-powered world and the new demands on parents, it is clear that the new demands on parents are as follows:

Over the past decade, conversations with and press releases from law enforcement have given me a very powerful overview of how on-line predator’s snare youth with fear and fakery, and what parents can do to help thwart their evil schemes. Below are some insights to consider when parenting children to learn how to safely navigate the social network.

Last Thursday Dr. Joyce Mikal-Flynn, founder of MetaHab trauma and injury recovery training center in Sacramento, spoke to therapists and school counselors at Sierra Vista Hospital about the value of trauma as an event or experience that offers enormous potential to build resilience. A near death survivor herself, Mikal-Flynn has developed a program to guide therapists in the treatment of people who have survived trauma so they can recover and become stronger than before the event. Her insights are incredibly relevant for the challenges we and our youth experience navigating the social network – which can be an incredibly exhilarating and a potentially hostile experience inflicting trauma such as cyberbullying and feelings of isolation and inadequacy.

Cyber Safety for Families with Joanna and Jodie on 103.9FM The Fish Family Morning Show

As a mom of two grown sons, I left the corporate world in 2004 when my youngest son hit middle school to better understand what it means to grow up in a cyber-powered world and the new demands on parents. My mother heart wanted to know how we are supposed to provide protective cover for youth who have literally have …

A recent article by Medical Press released new survey data about the health concerns for youth, featuring sexting and internet safety at the top of the list along with childhood obesity. According to the report, the level of concern about internet safety and sexting ranks higher than youth smoking. The impact of cyber technology on the health and well being of our young “really dominates the story this year,” the report said.

Back-to-school is a time of new experiences and new peer groups, on and off-line. Kids will be exposed to new apps and on-line hangouts, where there is always the risk of bad actors taking advantage of vulnerable youth. And banning kids from mobile connectivity and social media is not going to keep them safe, because they can keep their access a secret – making them even more vulnerable. There will be drama. It is a part of growing up. But certain apps truly stir drama into cyberbully ...

The transition struggles youth experience graduating into middle school, high school and college in the hyper-connected world amplify any confusion or self doubt a person might have. The most important thing a parent can do for a child going through the struggles of life's transitions is to express the spiritual wisdom of their chosen faith.