Tag: parents
Remote learning helps children with digital skills, claims study
The dangers of a full-on MMO addiction
Sit down by the fire, grandchildren, and let me explain to you why getting hooked on an MMO isn’t a good idea. Enter Hu Ange, a 22-year-old Chinese gent, who developed a rather nasty addiction to Legend – a browser-based MMO. He’s now on death row, and has just tried to claim ‘insanity’ as an excuse for his crimes.
What were those crimes? Well, it started when his parents gave him 50,000 yuan (£4.8k or so) to support his seafood business in March 07. He spent it ALL on the game, which allows you to buy virtual weapons and equipment with cash. On July 14 2007, he bought 20 packs of Tetramine, a rat poison, which he then used to poison his father…
USB Negative Scanner – reliving the past on your PC
There’s a fair few negative scanners around on the market, but Firebox reckons its new model is the mutt’s nuts, saying it’s “smaller, faster, better”. I bought one for my Dad a year or so ago, and although it was good, it was a little temperamental, and didn’t come equipped with drivers for older PCs.
Curb your teenage tearaway with Ford's MyKey
New MyKey technology, developed by Ford, will be rolling out next year. The development will allow parents to put limits on their kids’ driving. They can put speed restrictions in place, give fuel warnings, or prevent kids from using the radio until their seatbelt is fastened.
The full listing of features is over the jump, but as someone who has never driven, teenage or otherwise, the only message this sends is mistrust of your poor kids. Unless you have a particularly troublesome kid, this seems remarkably unnecessary. Speeds artificially limited? Reduced radio volume? If you don’t trust them not to exceed 80mph, then why let them drive at all?
Tokoni – sharing stories with a friendly community
A husband and wife team of former executives at Skype and eBay have banded together to create Tokoni – a site which lets you tell your story in the form of notes, photos and video. Tokoni has been in beta for a year, but launches today. It differs from a blog network because it’s more community-focused. Co-founder Alex Kazim explains:
Swedish kids embarrassed by dirty dads' online habits… mums too
Children in Sweden are embarrassed and concerned about what their parents get up to on the Internet, according to a report from the Barnens Rätt i Samhället (Children’s Rights in Society) organisation.
A common concern is that of dads who spend their time on porn sites, or who flirt (or worse) in chat rooms.
“I read his MSN conversation log. I was just curious. And then I saw that he was talking to, like, young girls. And the disgusting part is that he’s 53!” said one teenage boy…
The Byron Report part 2 – Brown asks child psychologist for a four-year follow up
Impressed by her recent work and her sensitively-angled head, Gordon Brown has asked Dr Tanya Byron to compile a follow-up paper to her recent report on online child safety.
“The prime minister has asked if I would come back in 2011…
Government to release social networking guidlines for parents
The Government is set to publish guidelines on Friday on the dangers of social networking sites for children in the latest move to scare the bejesus out of parents all over the UK.
The 79-page document makes recommendations that sites like Facebook, Bebo and the other usual suspects should be forced to carry adverts for the 999 emergency service…
US mobile survey shows parents want to track kids; youth want to track friends
A survey of US mobile phone users by Jupiter Research suggests that, while only three percent use mobile navigation services such as maps and turn-by-turn instructions, parents and children are two distinct groups that would like to see greater tracking technology made available – for two different reasons.
Parents of under-13s, unsurprisingly, would like to be able to track the location of their children, with 42% saying they’d be interested and willing to pay for such a service. In the US, a relatively small number of under-13s own mobile phones.
