Jewish Standard article

The Jewish Standard did a nice piece last week on domestic violence and the work of Project S.A.R.A.H.  (Yours truly is mentioned therein, but it would be a good article even without that.)

http://jstandard.com/index.php/content/item/30254/

Think of the Good Things

Look, we all have our imperfections. Our spouses do too. And since it is unlikely that either of you will ever achieve perfection, how can you deal with mistakes and missteps that you can bet will not be going away any time soon?

Digital Decisions

More on the topic of teenagers and technology - here's a nifty video created by thatsnotcool.com, which is a great resource for getting teens to think about their digital behavior.

Kajeet!

I just discovered Kajeet.com and, despite not having any idea what the name is about, I am already a big giant fan. It is a cell phone company designed for parents to use with their children.  THIS IS VERY MUCH NEEDED!  On one hand we've all come to expect that we will be able to reach people we need to talk to most of the time, that there will be a phone on hand in case of emergency, etc. - and who needs to be reachable more than our kids? Knowing where they are and who they're with has always been something parents have needed, and now that cell phones are so accessible to everyone, it seems like using them with our kids can bring us a lot of peace of mind.

At the same time, there are obviously downsides and even dangers to kids having cell phones.  Using them at inappropriate times (such as in school) is a concern; so is running up a huge bill on talking or texting if you don't have an unlimited plan.  Moreover, there is the significant risk of children walking around with internet-ready devices in the palms of their hands, able to access the worst kinds of material without anyone having a clue.

Enter Kajeet.  Their system allows you to determine which services (talk, text, web) your child will have on his phone; which sites are accessible to him on the internet; even who pays for the various services (for older children who are ready to learn about budgeting).  You can decide when the phone can and cannot be used, who is allowed to call the phone, and much more. You can even use the GPS tracking feature to find out where your child is, or to get alerts when he arrives at school, home etc.

I gotta say, I think this is brilliant, and much needed for the safety of our children. (Note: I'm not being paid by Kajeet!)  Philip Rosenthal, a noted expert on the internet and cybercrime, puts it nicely: Parents who consider giving their teenager unrestricted and unsupervised Internet access may as well buy them a gun. They’re likely to do less damage.”