Almost every kid who has a smartphone is using WhatsApp. If you're a parent, you might wonder what's wrong with WhatsApp. After all, it's a popular messaging app that lets kids stay in touch with their friends. But there are some things you should know about WhatsApp before you let your kids use it.
First, WhatsApp is owned by Facebook. That means that all of your kids' data is being collected by one of the largest data-mining companies in the world. WhatsApp has access to everything being said in chats and the contact information of the people involved in those chats. That data is then used to create targeted ads shown to users.
Second, WhatsApp is a breeding ground for cyberbullying. Because the app is so popular, it's easy for bullies to reach many kids with their messages. And because the app is used mainly by kids, adults are not always aware of what's happening. This can make it difficult for parents to track and stop cyberbullying.
If you are worried about what your kids are up to on their phones, you are not alone. Keeping track of what they say can be challenging with all the messaging apps available. However, there are ways that you can see your kids' WhatsApp chat history and even track their location without them knowing.
"One way to do this is by using a tracking app like"Smart Protect." This app will allow you to see all the WhatsApp messages your kids send, receive, and track their location. The app is undetectable, so your kids will never know you are monitoring their activity."One way to do this is by using a tracking app like "Smart Protect." This app will allow you to see all the WhatsApp messages your kids send, receive, and track their location. The app is undetectable, so your kids will never know you monitor their activity.
Another way to see your kids' WhatsApp chat history is to ask for their permission. If they use an iPhone, you can use the iCloud backup feature to see their WhatsApp messages. You can use a WhatsApp backup app to access their chat history if they use an Android phone.
If you are concerned about what your kids are up to on their phones, there are ways that you can see their WhatsApp chat history. By using a tracking app or asking for their permission, you can keep tabs on their activity and ensure they stay safe.
The best solution is using Smart Protect. If you are using Smart Protect, you should monitor their activity closely. Look for warning signs of cyberbullying, such as sudden changes in behaviour or a withdrawal from social activities.
Finally, it would help if you talked to your kids about the dangers of using WhatsApp. Ensure they know that their data is being collected and that their chats are not secure from hackers. Explain that cyberbullying is a serious problem and that they should tell you if they see any bullying happening on the app.
As a parent, you must know the risks of letting your kids use WhatsApp. By educating yourself and your kids about the app, you can help keep them safe from potential harm.
The suicide rate for teenagers has been increasing at an alarming rate. In fact, suicide is now the second leading cause of death for teenagers. A recent study found that nearly 1 in 5 high school students have seriously considered suicide.
There are many factors that can contribute to teen suicide. One of the most significant is cyberbullying. With the rise of social media, bullies now have a new platform to torment their victims. Unfortunately, this can have devastating consequences. Studies have found that cyberbullying is a major risk factor for suicide.
There are some warning signs that parents should be aware of. These include:
If you see any of these signs in your teenager, it's important to talk to them about it. You should also seek professional help if you're concerned.
There are some things parents can do to prevent teen suicide. One is to keep an eye on their social media activity. This can be done using parental control software like Smart Protect. This software allows you to monitor your child's online activity and see if they're being bullied or viewing harmful content.
Another thing you can do is to talk to your teenager about suicide. This can be a difficult conversation, but it's important to let them know that you're there for them and that they can come to you with anything.
Finally, it's important to be supportive and understanding if your teenager is going through a tough time. Let them know that you love them and that they can get through anything.
If you're concerned about your teenager's mental health, don't hesitate to seek professional help.
Self-harm is a growing problem among teenagers. One in six teens inflict self-harm, according to a new study. The study, conducted by the University of Michigan, found that self-harm is more common among girls than boys.
The study surveyed nearly 2,000 adolescents between the ages of 11 and 19. Participants were asked about their mental health, whether they had ever harmed themselves, and if so, how often.
Of the teens surveyed, 16 percent said they had harmed themselves at some point. Of those who had harmed themselves, nearly half said they had done so more than once.
Girls were more likely than boys to self-harm. Twenty percent of girls surveyed said they had harmed themselves, compared to 11 percent of boys.
The study did not ask why teens were harming themselves, but previous research has suggested that self-harm can be a way to cope with difficult emotions. It can also be a way to express anger or frustration.
Self-harm is often a sign of underlying mental health problems. If you are harming yourself, it is important to get help from a mental health professional.
If your teen is harming themselves, it is important to get help from a mental health professional. You can also use parental control software like Smart Protect to monitor your teen's internet use and help prevent them from accessing harmful content.
Parental control software can be a great way for parents to keep tabs on their kids’ online activity and protect them from potential dangers. However, there are also some risks associated with using these types of programs. Here are some of the pros and cons of parental control software:
Overall, parental control software can be a great tool for parents to use to keep their kids safe online. However, it is important to weigh the pros and cons before deciding if it is right for your family. If you do decide to use parental control software, we recommend Smart Protect as a good option.
The start of a new school year can be both exciting and stressful. But by being prepared and getting into a good routine, you can set yourself up for success. Here are 10 tips to help you make the most of your back-to-school experience.
By following these tips, you can start the school year off on the right foot. You’ll be more organized, less stressed and better prepared to succeed. So get ready to hit the books and have a great year!
When it comes to keeping children safe online, there are a number of tools parents can use. One such tool is parental control software. Parental control software can help parents monitor their child’s online activity and protect them from harmful content.
There are a number of different parental control software products available on the market. Some of these products are more comprehensive than others. Some parental control software products will allow parents to monitor their child’s online activity in real-time such as Smart Protect. Other products will simply send parents alerts if their child accesses something they shouldn’t.
Some parental control software is a type of internet filtering software that is designed to restrict the access of children to certain websites or online content. Parental control software can be used to block websites that are considered to be inappropriate for children, such as those that contain violence, pornography, or hate speech. It can also be used to limit the amount of time that children spend online, or to prevent them from downloading certain types of files.
There are a variety of parental control software programs available, and they vary in terms of features and price. Some of the more popular programs include SPYERA, SMART PROTECT, K9 Web Protection, and Cyber Patrol. These programs can be installed on a computer, smartphone, or tablet, and they typically come with a set of pre- configured rules that can be customized by the user. Parental control software can be an effective tool for parents who want to protect their children from harmful or inappropriate online content. However, it is important to note that these programs are not perfect, and they can sometimes block websites that are not actually harmful. Additionally, children can sometimes find ways to bypass the restrictions that are placed on their internet access.
As such, it is important for parents to closely monitor their children’s online activity, even if they are using parental control software.
Parental control software can be a valuable tool for parents who want to keep their children safe online. By using this type of software, parents can monitor their child’s online activity and ensure that they are not accessing anything harmful.
We’ve all seen it: a group of friends or family members sitting around a table, each with their noses buried in their phones. It’s become such a common sight that it’s almost become the norm. But is this really a good thing?
Sure, smartphones are a great way to stay connected with friends and family. But when you’re spending more time looking at your screen than you are talking to the people around you, it can be a problem.
Here are a few reasons why kids spending too much time on their smartphones can be a bad thing:
So what can you do to break the smartphone addiction? Here are a few tips:
In conclusion, spending too much time on your smartphone can have negative consequences. It can be bad for your mental health, interfere with your sleep, make you less productive, and lead to social problems. If you’re struggling with a smartphone addiction, try following the tips above to break the habit.
A glass of wine in hand, I'd scroll through my social media page and see the happiness I shared with the world. I'd also wonder how long I was going to lie to myself about my drinking is a problem. By the third glass, those thoughts stopped and I'd continue to scroll and pour, scroll and pour. My online life did not portray my reality. And I hid my problem well.
With new haircut selfies, family outings and motivational posts, you wouldn't have assumed the curator of this life actually hated herself, but I did. There was something really scary about how easy it was to mislead people on social media.
I'd wake, up every day on autopilot – to kids, the chaos, coffee, my phone. The routine became so regular it no longer required much mental effort. The problem with this is I stopped paying attention to myself. I wasn't checking in. I was hurting. I was getting by, but only by buying into the so-called reality, I shared, convincing myself that I was okay. But I wasn't.
I felt sorry for myself for eating dinner alone. I was left inside my own mind with the person I resented the most. So, I drank. It started with one glass of wine and usually ended with a bottle, sometimes two. I hated myself because I couldn't identify with who I was anymore. I left my career to stay home with our two children and, like many moms, I had trouble adjusting to my new role. While my friends and followers saw the life I wanted them to see, inside I was messed up. A lot.
I drank and lied to myself; I convinced myself my husband was having an affair. I was certain that he chose work over his family. He was working for us, for our family, but I had trouble seeing it because I chose to take my hate for myself out on him.
I began to read stories about drunken mothers so I could tell myself I wasn't like them. Instead, I recognized the justifying and the hiding of alcohol. I understood that the amount I consumed was not healthy. I recognized how much internal damage had happened. This was a wake-up call, but I didn't stop drinking. It was like someone had opened a door to my future. Only, instead of taking advantage of it, I panicked and slammed it shut.
In the middle of this madness, I decided to go back to school to study nutrition. I so badly wanted to be something (anything but the lonely stay-at-home mom). I feared failure, yet I'd continue to drink on the nights I was supposed to be studying – better to have something to blame when my grades weren't up to par! And getting a babysitter when my husband worked late so I could go out with friends did nothing but continue the drunken hiss of everything wrong in my life. Regardless of what appeared on my social media feed, my reality had zero substance. I had completely disconnected from who I was. I lost myself.
On the fifth day of a drinking binge, I recognized a blackout on the horizon. How on earth could I take care of two small children, let alone myself? A little glimmer of light ignited inside and I knew if I could make myself vulnerable, I could expose this thing for what it really was – a problem. I picked up my phone and called a friend for help.
Pieces of that phone call haunt me – how many times I whispered "help me" and how I couldn't stop crying. I couldn't catch my breath. The pain had never felt more real. All of my emotions exploded in the most uncomfortable and raw way. I was speaking to another person, but for the first time, I was listening to how I felt. I was coming to terms with where the unhappiness came from and – at that moment – began to develop trust with myself.
The next day when I was sober, I exposed myself to everyone. I called my parents first (who immediately came over) and then sent texts and group messages to my friends. I needed everyone to know that I was building myself back up. I decided alcohol could no longer be a part of my life. I was supported but along with that support came the judgment. Some didn't take me seriously. Maybe they didn't understand.
When the drinking stopped I had to relearn a lot of things, such as existing around alcohol without using it, how to strike up interesting conversations, and how to have my own opinions without the crippling fear of what I thought people would think of me. I had to learn to eat right, take control of my health and stop sabotaging my goals. I had to learn to like myself again.
It's working. I feel lighter. Physically, after dropping 35 pounds, and mentally, I've dropped the guilt. I feel strong. But the rawness of that self-destructive time lives inside me. I don't, however, feel shame for messing up and I respect that about myself.
During my recovery, my posts became far and few between. I often felt so delicate and emotional that I couldn't post my vulnerability on social media right away. But when I did post it was real: a poem that I wrote about a picture I took of a stormy sky or posts of my husband's recently opened restaurant. Eventually, I was even able to address my sobriety and struggle.
Now, I can honestly say I am happy. As I continue to pursue my certification in holistic nutrition, I don't fear failure, but fight it. I'm impelled to motivate others, and in doing so, I relive the painful, messy parts of my life, but those raw parts are what drive change.
Where I once used social media to cover up and silence my secrets and demons, now it is my voice and platform: together we can address the things that hurt us and talk about them, safely.
Natalie Fader lives in Toronto
The popularity of bestselling memoirs such as When Breath Becomes Air and The Bright Hour, both meditations on death by authors who died young, suggest that death is a topic many of us like to think about (while alone, reading silently) – yet, it is still a subject many of us are woefully bad at talking about, particularly when it comes to discussing it with kids.
We all need a better "death education," says Dr Kathy Kortes-Miller, an associate professor of social work at Ontario's Lakehead University and author of the new book Talking About Death Won't Kill You: The Essential Guide to End-of-Life Conversations. Like a new website launched last November by the Canadian Virtual Hospice, the book takes what remains a taboo subject and shows how to talk about it openly and honestly.
Why do we have such difficulty talking to children about death?
As parents, we are cultured and conditioned to protect our children. Our generation didn't really learn how to talk about it. Before I was a parent, I was really good at talking to children about dying and death. And then I became a parent myself and found that it was a lot harder than I thought it was.
What's the risk of ignoring the subject, or not bringing it up unless they do?
It keeps it unknown as a scary and almost a taboo topic. We [need to] recognize that this is a transition event in our life and one that we can prepare for and one that we can learn about, and by doing so, that's going to help us to live life more fully and prepare ourselves for the end of life.
What is the best way to explain death to a child?
It depends on the age of the child, of course. But one of the ways to do it is by looking around at nature. Kids are inquisitive. They're interested in how things die and what happens to them. So often they'll see things in nature and ask questions. Those are really good ways to get the conversation started. As they get a little bit older they start to watch TV and they start to read books. There is a lot of dying and death in media that children are exposed to, and those are also really good conversation starters.
You mention that nature often presents an opportunity to talk about death. I've been guilty of telling my kids a dead squirrel they saw was just sleeping.
That's an easy one to do. We're almost scared to use the D words – dead, dying and death. But we confuse them if we use euphemisms. Having worked with young kids in a counselling role as a social worker in a hospice unit, when we talk about "oh, grandpa's just gone for the big sleep," instead of he's died, kids get nightmares. Kids don't want to go to bed at night because grandpa went to sleep and he didn't wake up.
When a child wonders what death is, is there a good description of the physical process that won't scare kids?
I would sometimes talk about it from a physiological perspective. The reality is that sometimes we get really, really sick or we get old and our body no longer functions the way we need it to, and as a result, some of the things such as our heart or our brain stop working, and as a result, our body dies. It stops working. And that's kind of the way I would begin that conversation. I would leave it then to the young person to ask some questions, to see what they want to know more about.
You say in the book that bedtime can be a good time for these conversations. Why?
Bedtime can be great depending on the age of your child. Often, there are rituals and time spent in bed reading books and tucking in and doing all that stuff, which is a great time to have conversations. As children get older and we move into more of what I call the chauffeuring ages, car-time conversations are really good too, particularly because the kids don't have to make eye contact.
Is there a euphemism for death that you loathe most?
One that's probably most common is the idea that people "pass away." I talk about this story of Sam in the book when he got really confused because he was in school and in school they talk about passing to the next grade, and the only person he knew who had passed was his mom. So that one I think particularly for children is a big one.
Kids usually seem capable of processing much more than we give them credit for.
Yes. For sure.
Helping a child or teenager who is grieving the death of a parent or loved one is always difficult. What do you tell them? How do you help them understand matters? The Canadian Virtual Hospice recently launched a website, KidsGrief.ca, to help answer those questions. It is especially important to talk to young kids about the four C's, says Andrea Warnick, a Toronto-based registered psychotherapist and co-lead on the project.
"The four C's are four common concerns that kids have when either somebody's seriously ill, dying or has died in their life. We're really trying to encourage families to address these even if kids aren't bringing them up," she says.
Cause: Am I in some way responsible? “A lot of parents are really surprised when they find out that their child has been thinking that they did something to cause the illness or death in their family,” Warnick says. She has worked with children who thought their mom got throat cancer from yelling at them to clean their rooms. “We really want families to let their kids know that this is not their fault, they did not cause this in any way,” she says.
Catch: “A lot of families will avoid the word of the actual illness. So as opposed to saying, ‘Daddy has cancer,’ or ‘Dad has ALS,’ they’ll say, ‘Daddy’s sick.’ And for kids whose reference for sickness is that it gets spread across the daycare, or one person gets the flu and then the next person does, that scares them and they often think it’s going to happen to them too or they can catch it,” Warnick says. You can still hug your dad, still kiss him. You can still cuddle.
Cure: You have to let your kids know they can’t cure it. “This is not in their control,” Warnick says. “A lot of kids will use the power of their imaginations to come up with pacts, promising a higher power that they will never fight with their mom again if they cure them, and then, of course, they fight. I’ve had a number of kids feeling very responsible that they did something that could have happened otherwise.”
Care: This is one of the kids’ biggest fears. “If there’s a parent or a primary caregiver who is ill or dying, who is going to take care of me?” Warnick says. Or if the person has already died, is this going to happen to my other parent or whoever it is who is now taking care of them? “A lot of kids are really worried about that. And that’s where we really walk families through how to talk about that. Some families are tempted to say no, but it won’t happen to me. And we can’t promise a child that. So we really encourage families to say: Most likely I’m going to live to be very old, but if anything does happen to me, this is who is going to take care of you. Hopefully, guardians are picked out. Let them know what the plan is.”
Ashleigh Rider panicked when she returned to her townhouse one afternoon to find the business card of a child protection services worker stuck in the jamb of her front door.
She had feared this might happen, but she was also tired of the guilt and shame she felt for using alcohol, crystal meth and opiates. (more…)
