This post is sponsored by Google
As parents, we’re constantly reinforcing the importance of being smart, alert, strong, kind, and brave to our kids. The conversations about kindness and friendship we have with them extend beyond the real-life face to face interactions in school hallways, classrooms, and during extra-curricular activities to virtual ones that occur through texts, DMs, and comments on social posts.
We want them to be conscientious and thoughtful but isn’t it better if they can Be Internet Awesome when it comes to their online interactions?
Today I’m thrilled to share I’ve joined the Google Family Partner program to share the resources Google developed that are designed to keep kids safer online as you raise confident digital citizens. The free materials available through Be Internet Awesome and Family Link empower parents by helping you start conversations to teach your kids to take simple actions to be smart, alert, strong, kind, and brave online and off at any age. If these programs sound familiar, it’s because you’ve seen them here on the blog before!
Be Internet Awesome is a multifaceted program that’s a fantastic resource to know about as we continue conversations about digital citizenship and safety, remind our kids of the importance of interacting positively, and provide the much needed tools to help them address negativity when it arises. Have you heard of Google’s Be Internet Awesome program before?
Over the past year, I’ve shared personal stories of my kids being subjected to unkind words on the baseball field, bullying behavior on the preschool playground, and being berated by a coach during practice. I shared these personal stories to demonstrate how the knowledge from Be Internet Awesome resources gave me the confidence to have these hard conversations with my kids. I also love how these free materials reinforce the importance of being smart, alert, strong, kind, and brave in person and when using digital devices.
Have you heard of the Family Link app from Google? Whether your children are younger or in their teens, the Family Link app from Google lets you set digital ground rules to help guide them as they learn, play, and explore on their mobile devices. Family Link helps ensure your child is accessing good content, allows you to keep an eye on screen time, and also lets you see where they are. Their resources are perfect for families as you give your child their first cell phone!
Setting ground rules, finding the right words to say to our children, and teaching them to stand up for themselves while being smart, alert, strong, kind, and brave doesn’t have to be hard when you have free resources from Be Internet Awesome and Family Link at your disposal.
With the start of school just around the corner, I want to know what your number one concern is when it comes to internet safety and your kids! What challenges do you face as you raise confident digital citizens? Have you experienced successes that you can share? Please feel free leave success stories and questions in the comments!
We’re in this together and I’m here to help you raise confident digital citizens who are responsible online and off. Since the conversation about being smart, alert, strong, kind, and brave change as kids get older, I’ve created a list of must-read posts for parents of elementary ages as well as tweens/middle schoolers. I know these digital-safety themed post will empower your family to have another great year!
How to Raise Confident Digital Citizens- Elementary Ages
- 6 Questions Parents Need to Ask Kids to Reinforce Kindness in the Digital World
- How to Talk to Kids When They See Adults Being Unkind
- How Kids Can Play Their Way Through Interland to Learn Digital Citizenship
- How Google Be Internet Awesome Teaches Kids It’s Cool to Be Kind
How to Raise Confident Digital Citizens- Tweens and Middle Schoolers
- Giving Your Child Their First Cell Phone? Read This First!
- 6 Ways Families Can work Together to Be Internet Awesome
- 3 Simple, Positive Actions to Teach Tweens to Combat Bullying
- How I Taught My Tween to Be an Upstander
You can also use Google’s free resources to:
- Set digital ground rules with your family using the Family Link app from Google
- Learn more about how to Be Internet Awesome with your family at co/BeInternetAwesome
- Put your kindness skills to the test by playing Interland with your kids at co/KindKingdom
- Disempower bullying behavior and encourage healthy, productive interactions at school by sharing Be Internet Awesome’s online curriculum with your kids’ teachers so they can introduce these activities in the classroom to help
I am compensated for my participation in the Google Family Partner program. This post is sponsored by Google but all opinions are my own.
In a fast and everyday changing world, in the era of modern tech, it is necessary to raise children who will not only be able to adapt to the ever changing technology but also stick to their values and morals, helping each other grow. A very good article though.
We feel it is super important to have family times that are technology-free. Phones get turned off and nested in the charger while dinner is going. That is a must. Technology can never take away the value of personal interaction.