DC Metro Moms

Teaching Children About Big-Toothed-Rats (aka Beavers)

My 82-year-old grandmother got a letter a few years back from her alma mater, Beaver College in Philadelphia. Apparently, the university wanted to change its name for many reasons, one of which was that high schools seniors searching the internet with the term “beaver” were often taken to websites that contained material both unrelated to both schools and furry woodland creatures.

My grandmother, who attended the school in the 1940’s and majored in typing, couldn’t fathom that this problem with the so-called “internet” was as bad as this letter was making it out to be. Not a consumer of Google and its awesome search power, she was confused and appalled that the college was so quick to change its name in an effort to protect children from a seemingly harmless word. “If the kids haven’t figured out the difference between beaver and ‘beaver’ by now,” she asserted, “they probably aren’t ready for college.”

I recently had the opportunity to meet with a handful of smart women as part of an SV Moms Group event, where we joined together and shared our opinions about family security on the Internet. Some of us (me included!) were a bit more naïve about the dangers for kids on the Internet, while others took a more proactive attitude. But in the end the question in some minds remained. When it comes to protecting your family on the Internet, how far is too far?

Social Media Junkie Meets Social Media Newbies at Mom Congress

I live in a world where I spend time Tweeting friends in the blogosphere, seeking out relevant hashtags, sharing pictures from events on Flickr, uploading videos to YouTube, responding to comments that come on my Nings, and populating my Facebook profile with my most recent blog posts. It makes me forget that others are not as plugged in to social media as I am. 

Last week I attended the invitation-only MomCongress at Georgetown University where I had the distinct pleasure of meeting 51 amazing mom delegates.  Each woman was chosen by Parenting Magazine to represent their state and the District of Columbia for their outstanding work in child advocacy and educational reform.  Each mom I talked to was exceptionally passionate about issues in education but only a few knew to harness the power of social media to spread the word about their causes and mobilize their troops.

Will Technology Make Our Children Kinder?

It’s a different world now, from the world I grew up in.  There are computers, cell phones and text messaging.  There is Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.  

People always wear seatbelts, kids don’t ride in the ‘way back’ of station wagons anymore; SUVs exist now, and phones only have cords- if you did what I did and bought a stainless steel retro-looking one to match your kitchen appliances.

And people are REALLY connected now.  

In some ways our children are safer.  Parents can keep track of their children more easily...  Children have cell phones now; this beats the- ‘I’m going to be at Mary’s’ any day.

But, we have to monitor our children's online activities now…

I Heart my iPhone

I love my iPhone.  I've been an iOwner for only 2 months now, but already I'm addicted.  I've been using a PDA since 2000, so none of this is new to me, but the iPhone is just so much better!

My boys, ages 3 and 5, also adore my phone.  I have to admit that I use the iPhone as a virtual babysitter on a regular basis.  The boys play number games with the Dotty Math app; they stretch Sponge Bob and make him giggle; they watch shows on the PBS Sprout application and videos on the iPod; we read stories with the Kindle app; the boys we all play with the Light Saber app;and I'm even teaching my 5 year old the basics of photo composition with the Genius camera application.

I use my iPhone for all the basics: email, organization, etc..., but I also use it to store sample poses for photo sessions; to find the closest bathrooms when I'm out with the boys; to look up items in my Nikon D300 camera manual; to keep track of the boys' shot records and other medical information; to read books and, of course, to upload to Facebook and Twitter on the go.

So, when my iPhone broke while I was doing a routine update, I was despondent.  And after spending several hours following all the suggestions on the Apple support page, a little annoyed.  So I reluctantly made an appointment with an Apple Genius at my local Apple Store.  For the 2 1/2 days I suffered through without my iPhone, I felt like my arm had been amputated.

I had a 2:30 appointment and a little time to kill while they worked on my phone, so I lusted over all of the Macs and checked out all of the iPhone accessories.  While I was waiting, Robin Williams showed up.  That's right.  Robin Williams.  He had a show nearby last night and made an appointment at the Apple store with the Geniuses to have some memory upgrades done to his Mac.  His appointment just happened to be at the same time as mine.

Plagiarism is Never Ok

“Plagiarism is never ok.  It is never ok to take someone else’s work and write their exact words down on your paper.  That is stealing.”

During the first week of school I found myself saying repeating those sentences over and over again as I conducted computer orientation to each class of 3-5^th grade students and went over the county’s rules and regulations for computer use. Orientation is required for every class and a prerequisite before students get their logins and passwords to use the school computers and certainly before they begin to word process, use interactive games to practice skills, and conducting research using online resources.

The irony of the situation was that while I was telling my students that it was never ok to copy what they read in World Book, Encyclopaedia Britannica, or any of the other online resources we use, my own work on my blog was being stolen and reposted on another blog. 

Unplugged

This weekend I did something I haven't done in three years. I went on vacation and I didn't take my computer.

Maybe for some of you it doesn't seem like a big deal, but I am somewhat of an addict. I write for eight different blogs, I get all of my news from the internet, I manage three (and a half) websites and my day job is for a blog ad network.

When I left the house without my laptop I think I almost had a panic attack.

Okay, that may be overstating the issue, but I was absolutely uncomfortable. If I have to be completely honest with myself I easily spend eight hours a day on the internet and probably another hour on e-mail.

It is so easy to forget that just because my job is mobile, sometimes it is important to take an actual vacation. I went to Florida in June and I spent every day working while my Mom took my kids to parks and movies. I went to BlogHer in Chicago and I missed all of the Friday sessions because I was working. (Ironically, for BlogHer.)

This vacation was amazing. I read a book on the airplane. I actually got to swim with my kids at the hotel. I hung out with family, I saw some old friends and I was able to finally give my children (and my husband) the attention that they really deserve.

Guess What? I'm Addicted to the Internet

Does your internet habit:

• Keep you online while your family sleeps
• Include reading the news online
• Allow you to facilitate in your real life friendships
• Involve reading blogs or writing your own blog

If so, you may be addicted to the internet.  I know I am.

CNNHealth.com's Why Moms Are At Risk for Internet Addiction states says that moms like me are “contributing to a growing global addiction.”  Psychiatrists are moving to recognize the internet as an addiction just like alcohol dependency which would make it an official mental disorder.

A mental disorder?!?  I’m online a lot both personally and professionally but I don’t my use of the internet should be classified as a mental disorder.  As a modern mom who juggles work, family, and tries to have a little bit of a life outside of being a parent, my

 internet usage is just a way of life

Elation to Frustration...Trying for White House Easter Egg Roll Tickets

How did you spend your Thursday?  If you were like me and so many other DC Metro parents you probably spent a portion of it online trying to secure White House Easter Egg Roll tickets for your family only to experience hope, disappointment, and frustration repeatedly throughout the day.

This year the White House abandoned the old practice of waiting in line on the Ellipse the weekend before the event.  When I first heard that tickets were going to be distributed online, I thought this was a brilliant idea.  No longer would families be camping out, trading parenting shifts to secure highly coveted tickets.  Going online to reserve tickets seemed like a much more humane method of ticketing.

Or so I thought. Since the ticketing information was quite vague, there was a lot of speculation about the process for obtaining tickets.  The official website did not say what time today the online ticketing portal would open and there were also rumors of a lottery system.  Speculation abounded on my various DC mom listservs, Twitter, and through my friends on Facebook. 

When ticketing finally became available, it was clear that the Obama Administration and/or the online ticketing system powered by Front Gate Tickets did not to understand the lengths that parents will go to for White House Easter Egg Roll tickets whether waiting outside in the cold or camping out online. 

Finally Joining the Video Chat Age

At some point over the past few years we fell behind the technology curve, and we fell far, far behind it. In college and in our 20's we were so up on everything cutting edge, but it seems that we continue to fall behind. But over the past week we took one big step - we video chatted with someone in another state. Not a big deal to most, but remember that we are somewhat technologically impaired. About a year ago we tried to connect online to family in Texas, but we still had to use the phone to hear the voices on the other end. Something failed along the way at some point and instead or pursuing it and fixing the problem we just let it slide (now you see why we fall behind the tech curve).

Then last week my in-laws called and asked if we had the setup to talk to them via the Internet, and that feeling of breathing in technology's dust as it whipped past us came rushing back. It is somewhat painful when the generation above you knows more about this than you do. But this wasn't the case. We did have the bits and pieces needed, and realized after a brief conversation with technical support (real technical support not just my husband - he had the conversation with the computer manufacturer due to some weird glitch) that we were up and running. And what did our kids do when they got on the video chat with the grandparents you ask?

Computer Time Versus Play Time

As a new contributor to DC Metro Moms, I feel that all of my posts so far have to deal with the conflicts I face as a parent- summer camp versus the freedom of an unplanned summer and what to do about an ailing rabbit. 

My daughter’s hand-me-down computer arrived this week.  The Future Home of the Computer is located in our home’s main hub, a high traffic area near the kitchen and living room.  Little Miss Techie and Captain Computer spend lots of time playing in these areas.  I worry that putting the computer near the living room where a majority of play occurs will negatively impact the amount of imaginative play that occurs.