1710.16 THE LAST EVER PARENT-TEACHER EVENING

As a parent of older children, well an adult and a teenager, I've seen many of the parenting tasks end. Last Thursday I saw another one end.

1607.07 BASIC CHILD SAFETY ONLINE

I was prompted to write this post after seeing a friend's child cropping up all over social media and in my opinion started putting themselves in potential danger.

I've always been strict about my children's use of the internet. This lead to quite a bit of friction with my eldest back in the difficult period (which we won't go into now). My rules, hopefully, have kept my kids as safe as can be whilst letting them access to the internet. I supervise as much as I can, online devices must remain downstairs at all times and a parent must have access to all online accounts. Now I know this isn't foolproof but it's also about teaching responsible use of online services. It a frightening world out there and young people are exposed to it too soon these days.

It concerns me when I see other parents not giving a damn about what their kids do online. They hand over a smartphone and don't give a second thought to what they're doing or who they may be chatting to (or worse?).

There's loads of advice online for kids and parents and I think it's a good idea to sit down with a child and discuss it. I have with both my kids. For more info check out CEOP.

In my work I've visited schools and spoken to children about internet safely and hopefully my words have made an impression to some of those kids. At the end of the day it's not up to me, every parent needs to take responsibility for their child's activity online. 

0904.18 HOW DO YOU SURVIVE A TEENAGER?

My eldest daughter will soon reach the age of 13 and is already exhibiting the usual teenage characteristics. She's bad tempered frequently, unreliable and has a bedroom that I wouldn't house a wild animal in. Does anyone have any survival tips on how I'm supposed to get through the next 7 years?

Now I understand why some animals eat their young.

When I initially posted this, it was intended as a tongue in cheek post, I offended my eldest who got upset thinking I was 'having a go' at her publicly. I think most people reading this realise but just to make it clear. I'm having a laugh at the teenage condition and is certainly not meant to reflect any true feelings.