Safety for the Mobile Generation

Disclosure

With my Mother-in-law scheduled to arrive in a few days, I’m in OMG-I-need-to-clean mode. So I solicited the assistance of my girls to dust and vacuum while I did more difficult tasks like steaming the carpet. They spent the morning being so incredibly helpful that after lunch I added something to their to-do list.

“Go play. That’s what you need to do next.”

They promptly headed to grab an iPad and veg on the couch.  The checked on some of their favorite games, watched some videos then moved along to more traditional playing. After an in-depth game of treasure-hunt which even included maps and a buried treasure, they retreated back to the family room where one grabbed an iPad and the other an iPod.  Like most parents, I have realized that my kids don’t live in the same children’s world that I did.

When I was growing up, we played outside A LOT: Climbing trees, swinging on the rope swing, countless hours of Tag, Kick the Can, Cops and Robbers, Cowboys and Indians, Bloody Murder… we even played in the mud sometimes.  Now, kids are discouraged from playing games like cops and robbers and can’t even bring toy/cardboard weapons to school with their Halloween costumes. Any wonder they retreat to the sanctuary of iPad games that don’t squelch their imaginations.

Aside from regular games and videos on the iPad, my daughters are allowed to use the iMessage app to text family but we don’t see a need for them to have their own phones yet. Some of their classmates do, however. Whether it be out of convenience or necessity as more families have both parents working (or are divorced), many kids are being outfitted with phones. Question is: Are they being prepared well?

Along with the convenience and accessibility of the mobile phone comes some concerns: mobile bullying, texting while driving, privacy issues and more. Being from a generation that didn’t even own a mobile phone until well into adulthood (I was in my early 30s), many of us haven’t experienced the mobile pitfalls that our kids experience so offering advice on it is difficult.

That’s where AT&T comes in.  They have made a commitment to bridge the gaps – offering resources, tools and education to parents so that parents can respond appropriately to their kids. I’ve been invited to attend a Virtual Mobile Safety School so I can learn and be armed with the facts and how to handle issues like mobile bullying before they hit us. AT&T has even offered for one of my lucky readers to attend one of the sessions also!

There are three sessions being offered and one reader will receive the coveted invitation to the session of their choice!

• Oct. 23 at 1p ET – mobile safety for kids 8-11
• Oct. 24 at 1p ET – mobile safety for kids 12-14
• Oct. 25 at 1p ET – mobile safety for kids 15-17

This exclusive invitation brings with it a $50 Visa Gift Card to use as you please. You’ll really want to attend this private, invite-only event and with the $50 gift card you win, you can treat your friends to coffee and tell them all about it!  Hopefully, you’ll find the information so valuable that you’ll be sharing it with any parent you think could benefit from the knowledge you’ve gained by attending!

All you need to do to enter is leave a comment on this post telling which of the seminars you would be attending (and complete your entry via the Rafflecopter widget.)

For more information on AT&T and their mobile safety programs, check out the AT&T Mobile Safety website.