Digital Safety
Videos
- Common Sense Video Playlist of Apps Used by Kids(opens in new window/tab -(Common Sense Media Youtube) Playlist -17 short videos explaining what each of these platforms do: ChatGPT, Twitch, Fortnite, Discord, Roblox, TickTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Pokemon Go, Periscope, Twitch, Sarahah, tbh, Live.ly, Messenger Kids, Squad
- Going Back to School with AI | Common Sense Explains(opens in new window/tab -In this episode of Common Sense Explains, Robbie Torney, Chief of Staff at Common Sense Media, explores insights from a recent survey commissioned by Common Sense Media, unveiling students' and parents' perceptions of AI, including tools like ChatGPT.
- 7 Internet Safety Tips - Parent University Tips(opens in new window/tab - “Technology could be a danger if not used properly, but the following tips will give you information to keep from the oldest to the little ones in the house safe when navigating the internet.”
Newsletters & Articles
- Sleep and Screens(opens in new window/tab) - A 2024 panel study on sleep reached consensus that screen use impairs sleep health for children and adolescents ages 5-19 years old. The handout provides information about the impact that screens have on sleep and family recommendations for promoting sleep health, download this handout.
- YouTube - More choices for families from YouTube(opens in new window/tab) - Every family has their own approach to online video. Learn about your options: the YouTube Kids app or a new parent supervised experience on YouTube.
- Guardian's Guide | Tiktok(opens in new window/tab) ***Note – Cannot access on school devices and wifi
- Keeping teens safe on social media: What parents should know to protect their kids (American Psychological Association) Article w/Videos(opens in new window/tab
- Helping your teen navigate Instagram safely – For Parents(opens in new window/tab) - An online guide for parents “Our Parent’s Guide and Family Center include helpful resources for you and your teen.” The parent Guide is also available in Spanish and 26 other languages.
- AI Social Companions and Youth: What Parents Need to Know - Children and Screen - This tip sheet explores the risks of building attachments to AI “bots,” and what researchers are learning about how these tools may shape social development. It also offers practical tips to help parents encourage and support the development of critical real-world social skills.
- Friendship in the Screen Age: What is it, and How is it Changing? - Children and Screens - This webinar explains how constant notifications, expectations to quickly respond to friends' posts, and fears of missing out online are creating "digital stress" for young people.
- The Children and Screens Guide for Child Development and Media Use: Adolescence Ages 11-18 - This guide aims to help parents and caregivers support adolescents’ well-being, growing autonomy, and healthy relationships with digital media.
- Internetmatters.org – resources for keeping kids safe online including a Digital Family Toolkit, family advice by age, and much more. Spanish resources are also available on the site. Access resources for keeping kids safe online including a Digital Family Toolkit, family advice by age, and much more. Spanish resources are also available on the site.
National & Community-Based Organizations
- NetSmartz(opens in new window/tab) - Our resources for educators offer multiple ways to engage students, parents and communities in important lesson in digital citizenship and online safety. Empower your students to be safer online with our free collection of teaching materials for families and students in grades K-12.
- JTNN(opens in new window/tab) - “Join Together Northern Nevada brings citizens, agencies, businesses, and government together to form a whole that has the ability to identify, measure, and develop strategies to deal with substance abuse problems in the community.”
- Wait Until 8th - Wait Until 8th empowers parents to rally together to delay giving children a smartphone until at least the end of 8th grade. Let’s protect the elementary and middle school years from the distractions and the dangers of a smartphone. Banding together helps decrease the pressure to have a phone at an early age. Ten years old is the average age children get their first smartphone. You can change this!
Tools for Families
- Common Sense Media - For Parents(opens in new window/tab) - “Reviews for what your kids are into (trusted ratings created with families in min)” Topics: Movies, TV, Books, Games, Podcasts, Apps.
- Common Sense Media – For Parents “Resources on Parenting and Media” - Resources about online safety by age groups
- Common Sense Media - Digital Citizenship Resources for Family Engagement - K-12th grade (Spanish also available). Family conversation starters around SEL in Digital Life. These conversation starters for families are aligned with the SEL in Digital Life classroom activities. Tips for families around digital citizenship. Digital Citizenship Curriculum Family Letters (available in:Arabic, Armenian, Bengali, Chinese, Farsi, Haitian Creole, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Urdu, Vietnamese).
- Family Tech Planners - “Use these planners to inspire conversations about tech use as a family.”
- Spanish Landing Page.
Additional Resources
- Keep Your Students (and Yourself) Safe on Social Media: A Checklist - Infographic(opens in new window/tab) - (Common Sense) “Social media can be a great tool for modeling digital citizenship. It can also be a vital tool for community building. However, it's important to protect personal information (both yours and your students') everywhere online. Use this list of tips to do a checkup on your social media privacy practices.”
Archived Webinars
- Children and Screens Webinars(opens in new window/tab) - Digital Literacy, Mental Health, and much more
- The Social Brain on Screens(opens in new window/tab) - In this “Ask the Experts” webinar, an interdisciplinary panel of neuroscientists, developmental psychologists, and psychiatrists explore the functions of the social brain in childhood, what these interconnected neural networks require for healthy functioning, and what strategies parents might consider around infant and youth screen use to promote healthy social development.
Adding Resources:
The following WCSD Departments have contributed to this Toolkit: Behavior, Communications, Counseling, Curriculum & Instruction, Emergency Management, Family-School Partnerships, Multi-tiered System of Supports-Social-Emotional Learning and Psychology. If you would like to add resources, for consideration to this toolkit, please contact Family-School Partnerships.