Winter Break and College Prep

Many parents of high school students are wondering what they will do over winter break.  Winter break is a great time for students to spend time with friends and family, but this time could also be used to prepare for college.  An article in TulsaWorld.comTulsaWorld.com stated,  "Whether searching for grants and scholarships, perfecting college application essays, or volunteering, students who put in the extra time and effort improve their chances of nabbing their top choice school."  In addition, the article explains that almost every student qualifies for financial aid so taking time to look for assistance is worth your while.  The article lists several helpful resources for the college application and financial aid process.  To read more, go to:  Winter Break Gives Students Time to Prepare for College.

Internet and Your Child's Future

Can the Internet hurt your child's future?  The Pew Internet Center recently asked this question to parents of teens.  Not surprisingly, most parents said they were concerned.  This issue recently came up because legislators in Europe are considering a policy called "the right to be forgotten" which means that Internet users would be entitled to delete their digital past - giving them a clean slate in the future.  There is nothing like this being proposed in the United States.  

The article in the New York Times, Parents of Teenagers Say They Worry That Online Activities Might Hurt Children in the Future, stated that "the study suggests that parents are concerned about future harm"  and because of this parents are trying to manage their children's social media activities.  About a third of parents in the study said they helped their children with privacy settings.  However, in a survey done with children 12-17 years old, children had very different opinions about giving their parents access to their Facebook page.  Some teens said they blocked their parents from seeing their page and others said they only let their parents see profiles but not status updates.

This is all very concerning and parents need to guide their teens with the complicated social media world.  As many parents agreed, the Internet can hurt their child's future as once something is put on the Internet it is hard to take it away.  We, at Spring Ridge Academy, encourage parents to set boundaries and structures around the Internet to help protect their children's safety now and in the future.  

To read more about this study, go to http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/20/parents-of-teenagers-say-they-worry-that-online-activities-might-hurt-children-in-the-future/