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Ways to Have a Smarter Conversation With Your Child About Social Media

Preparing kids to be responsible and eventually independent online starts with a conversation, but sometimes conversations with tweens can be challenging. Developmentally, tweens are starting to separate and individuate from their parents, so they may be reluctant to share their thoughts and feelings with you. Sometimes shifting the focus away from them will encourage conversation. …

August 16, 2021

Is Your Child Ready To Start Using Social Media?

At TDSU we believe that there are a set of Thumbs Down skills kids can be taught to help them be responsible and eventually independent online. But how do you know when your child is developmentally ready to start learning these skills? What signposts should you look for to know if your child is ready …

June 15, 2021

Three Things Your Kids Should Never Post on Social Media

When to Thumbs Down In order to act responsibly online, children need to know when and how to disengage from social media. We call this Thumbs Down. When our children started engaging with social media, we did what the experts advised. We turned on parental controls, monitored their activity, had them sign technology contracts, and …

May 5, 2021

Don’t Just Follow Your Kids on Social Media. Lead Them.

Thumbs Down. Speak Up. (TDSU) bridges the gap between merely monitoring our childrens’ online behaviors and supporting them on their journey towards independent and responsible social media use. How It All Started Like many of you, we were blindsided by the emergence of social media in our childrens’ lives. We found ourselves playing catch up. …

April 10, 2021

Teaching Social Media Skills to Kids

What Is Speak Up?Children need to be actively taught and supported as they learn to be responsible and independent users of social media. We call this Speak Up. We’ve all helped our children develop many skills over the years. Teaching them to be responsible, and eventually independent, social media users isn’t any different. Think back …

April 9, 2021