How to Raise a Reader

10 tips for getting your kids hooked on books -- ebooks or the paper kind.

Regan McMahon March 3, 2014

A perfect book for Read Across America day.

Kids become lifelong readers for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes there's one key book that captures a kid's imagination and opens him or her up to the exciting world of fiction. Other times, a teacher who assigns great books in class sparks a hunger for more big ideas and fine writing. In some cases, parents influence kids' appreciation of books by sharing their own love of literature and modeling reader behavior -- always having a book to read, taking books on vacation, reading before bedtime, making regular trips to the library and bookstore, etc.
Here are our best tips for nurturing a love of reading that can last a lifetime:
Read aloud: This comes naturally to lots of new parents, but it's important to keep it up. Kids will enjoy it longer than you think. When reading to babies, toddlers, preschoolers, and kids in early grade school, it's wonderful to have a kid on your lap, snuggled next to you on the couch, or drifting off to sleep in bed as you enjoy picture books together. You may have to read your kid's favorite a hundred times, but just go with it. Your kid will remember the closeness as well as the story. And try nonfiction for those who are curious about pirates, Vikings, robots, castles, history, sports, biography, animals, whatever. For second through fifth graders, read those rich and meaty books that might be missed otherwise, maybe classics like Treasure Island or Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
Many parents think that as soon as their kids learn to read on their own, they no longer need to be read to. But kids still love it and benefit from it as they hear the rhythm of the language, learn correct pronunciation, and get to relax and just take it all in. Kids will get the idea that there's something worthwhile in books and that there's something special about time spent with a parent.
Savor the series: It's common for kids to become book lovers for life after getting hooked on a series. And there are lots of good ones that keep kids hungry for the next installment. Some reliable prospects: Ivy and Bean, Judy Moody for beginning readers; Harry Potter, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and the Percy Jackson series for middle graders; and Hunger Games, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and Twilight (unless you think vampires are too creepy) for older kids.
Grab onto a genre: Kids go through phases of genres they're passionate about, from girl detectives to science fiction and fantasy. Don't get hung up on whether it's considered great literature (although some genre books are). Be happy that your kid is devouring books one after the other.
Feed the favorite-author addiction: Once your kids finds a writer they love, they may want to read all of his or her books -- a great excuse for a trip to the library or an opportunity for book swapping among friends and classmates. Here are some good bets for favorites. Younger kids: Dav Pilkey (The Adventures of Captain Underpants), Beverly Cleary (Beezus and Ramona). Middle grade: Kate DiCamillo (Because of Winn-Dixie), Neil Gaiman (The Graveyard Book). Tweens and teens: Judy Blume (Are You There God, It's Me Margaret) and Sarah Dessen (Just Listen).
Count on the Classics: Books are called classics because they continue to engage readers generation after generation. There are no guarantees, but you could try introducing your kids to books you loved as a kid and see which ones click. Some good ones to try are the Dr. Seuss and Narnia books, Charlotte's Web, and The Secret Garden. Check out our Classic Books for Kids list to find more.
Find Books About the Things Your Kid Loves: If your kid adores horses, try Black Beauty or any of the titles on our list of best Horse Books. If he's wild about cars, trucks and trains, check out our list of Vehicle Books. Librarians, booksellers, and Internet searches will help you find books on any favorite topic.
Funny Is Fine: Some parents wrestle with letting their kids read Captain Underpants, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and other edgy humor books about kids getting in trouble. Talk to your kids about the content, but keep in mind that kids like these books not because they want to imitate the characters' actions but because they can live vicariously through their bad behavior. Humor is a great pathway to book loving.
Comics Are OK: Graphic novels are among the hottest trends in children's publishing, and they can get kids hooked on reading. Kids may start with Squish and Babymouse and move on to Diary of a Wimpy Kid. But these series can also lead to more sophisticated fare such as Marzi and American Born Chinese. Find other titles in our list of best Graphic Novels.
Engage with ebooks: Kids can cuddle up with a Kindle, Nook, or iPad before naptime or bedtime. Some recent studies say more than half of U.S. kids are reading digital books at least once a week. The electronic format has proved to be especially engaging for boys and reluctant readers, and you can download or access many books on an ereader, which make it a great choice for air travel and car rides.
But note that some studies show that book apps and interactive “enhanced” ebooks, while fun, can be distracting and inhibit reading comprehension. So to promote reading skills and encourage your kid to be a frequent reader, you might want to stick with ebooks that have the look of a bound paper book. Some even have animation that mimics turning the pages.
Make Reading a Family Value: Actions speak louder than words. Take your kids to the library once a week or once a month to get new books, make regular outings to your local bookstore, hunt for low-cost books at used bookstores or second-hand shops, and show kids that finding a good book is like a treasure hunt.
Fit reading into your family lifestyle. Set aside time for reading only -- turning off the TV, computer, and cell phone. Encourage focused reading time, either for independent reading or reading aloud. Take preschoolers to story time hours at libraries and bookstores. For older kids, a parent-kid book club can be fun. Read to kids at bedtime. Provide time and space for your kids to read for pleasure in the car (if they don't get car sick!), on vacation, after homework is done, on their own before bed. Warning: It could be habit-forming!

7 Apps for Teaching Children Coding Skills

Image credit: Veer

Editor’s Note: Helen Mowers, co-creator of the Tech Chicks podcast, contributed to this post.
It's hard to imagine a single career that doesn't have a need for someone who can code. Everything that "just works" has some type of code that makes it run. Coding (a.k.a. programming) is all around us. That's why all the cool kids are coding . . . or should be. Programming is not just the province of pale twenty-somethings in skinny jeans, hunched over three monitors, swigging Red Bull. Not any more! The newest pint-sized coders have just begun elementary school.
If you're concerned that that a) elementary school students don't have the ability to code, b) there's no room in the curriculum, and c) you don't possess coding chops to teach programming skills, throw out those worries. The following sites and apps can help anyone who has basic reading skills grasp the basics of thinking and planning in order to make things happen (the whole purpose of coding) and create applications: interactive games, quizzes, animations, etc. Best of all, many of these tools are free, or almost free, and require no coding background or expertise!
In no particular order, we have listed all the coding apps that are appropriate for young learners. We've used many of them with elementary-aged students.

GameStar Mechanic

Platform: Web
Cost: $2 per student
GameStar Mechanic teaches kids, ages 7-14, to design their own video games. Your students will love completing different self-paced quests while learning to build game levels. The site integrates critical thinking and problem-solving tasks. An app embedded within Edmodo makes logins easy for students.

Scratch

Platform: Web
Cost: Free!
Designed by MIT students and staff in 2003, Scratch is one of the first programming languages we've seen that is created specifically for 8-to-16-year-olds. Originally a multi-platform download, Scratch is now web-based and more accessible. Students use a visual programming language made up of bricks that they drag to the workspace to animate sprites. Various types of bricks trigger loops, create variables, initiate interactivity, play sounds, and more. Teaching guides, communities and other resources available on the website will help instructors get started. You don't have to be a programming expert to introduce Scratch -- we learned right along with the students!

Tynker

Platform: Web
Cost: Free! (with Premium upgrade option)
Although Tynker is relatively new, we definitely count it as one of our favorite coding apps. The interface looks similar to Scratch. But while Scratch was designed to program, Tynker was built to teach programming. The app features starter lesson plans, classroom management tools, and an online showcase of student-created programs. Lessons are self-paced and simple for students to follow without assistance.

Move the Turtle

Platform: iOS (iPad and iPod)
Cost: $2.99
We love Move the Turtle, a gamified way to learn programming procedures. The main character reminds us of the old Logo turtle used to teach kids computer programming during the reign of the Apple IIe. Each new level of achievement increases in difficulty and teaches a new command that directs the turtle to reach a star, make a sound, draw a line, etc. A free play "compose" mode lets students move the turtle however they want.

Hopscotch

Platform: iPad
Cost: Free!
Hopscotch looks a lot like Scratch and Tynker and uses similar controls to drag blocks into a workspace, but it only runs on the iPad. The controls and characters are not as extensive as Scratch and Tynker, but Hopscotch is a great tool to begin helping students without coding experience learn the basics of programming, logical thinking and problem solving.

Daisy the Dinosaur

Platform: iPad
Cost: Free!
From the makers of Hopscotch, Daisy targets the youngest coders. The interface is similar to Hopscotch but much simpler. There is only a dinosaur to move and only basic functions to use, but for your younger students, this is an excellent introduction to programming.

Cargo-Bot

Platform: iPad
Cost: Free!
Cargo-Bot is another game that teaches coding skills. On each level, the objective is to move colored crates from one place to another by programming a claw crane to move left or right, and drop or pick up. The game was actually programmed on an iPad, using a touch-based coding app called Codea, which is based on the programming language Lua. Elementary students will learn the logical thinking required to eventually do "real" text-based programming using Lua -- but Lua is not for young learners. For elementary students, stick with Cargo-Bot.
We hope these descriptions have whetted your appetite and that you'll incorporate coding into your curriculum. Even if a student never intends to pursue programming as a career, learning to code will still foster problem-solving skills, spark creativity and enhance logical thinking. Code.org, a pro-coding education nonprofit, features dozens of quotations about computer programming from famous and important people who believe that coding should be part of the core curriculum for every child. One of our favorite quotes is by Maria Klawe, a computer programmer and inventor who says, "Coding is today's language of creativity. All our children deserve a chance to become creators instead of consumers of computer science [emphasis added]."

The Lady With the Lamp and the Angel of the Battlefield

‘Florence Nightingale’ and ‘Clara and Davie’

MARCH 5, 2014

By SARAH HARRISON SMITH

Florence Nightingale and Clara Barton, two great heroines of 19th-century nursing, were born a year apart but in utterly different circumstances. Nightingale was born in the spring of 1820 to a wealthy British family living in Italy. They returned to England shortly after, entertaining the beau monde of the day at Embley Park, their estate near London. Barton, born on Christmas Day in 1821, was the youngest of five children in a farming family in North Oxford, Mass. Her mother and sister Dolly seem to have suffered from mental illness; Clara was raised, in large part, by her brother Davie. She became a teacher at the age of 15.

In “Florence Nightingale,” Demi, the author and illustrator of many biographical picture books (including “Joan of Arc," “Marco Polo” and “Alexander the Great”), chooses to tell Florence’s story from her birth to her death at the age of 90. Her narrative works hard to cover so much ground — following Nightingale from Italy to England to Germany, Egypt, Turkey and Crimea. Demi’s language is clear, and the story will be comprehensible to older children, who may find the piety, compassion, enterprise and perseverance of "the Lady with the Lamp” inspiring. But the long description of Nightingale’s life feels a little unadorned and textureless, without a single quotation to give readers a sense of her voice, which must have been an educated and persuasive one, given the extent of what she accomplished (much of it by letter).

Fortunately, Demi’s illustrations bring great charm to each page, and create a sense of cultural and historical context. She uses a thin black outline for her human figures (whether wounded or healthy, they all resemble Victorian china dolls, with pretty, long-lashed eyes and ruddy cheeks) and then colors the pictures brightly, in some places seeming to use collage for the patterned textiles of Florence’s dresses and for the rich interiors of her family’s houses. She draws faces with great skill: In one scene, the loving look Florence and a young patient — little more than a toddler — exchange as she carries him in her arms conveys something important about the rewards she must have found in nursing, as do the sometimes agonized but mostly adoring expressions of the soldiers she tends as they lie in long rows in cold, dirty military hospitals.

In “Clara and Davie,” Patricia Polacco takes a very different approach, telling only the story of Barton’s Massachusetts childhood and leaving her success as founder and longtime leader of the American Red Cross to an author’s note at the end of the book, where children old enough to be interested can read further. An artful storyteller, Polacco invents lifelike details and vernacular dialogue to bring interest to this tale of the little girl who became “the Angel of the Battlefield.”

When Davie first holds baby Clara, he exclaims: “That’s some grip. I bet she’ll be breakin’ horses for Pa before we know it!” Later, as Barton grows, she is teased because of her lisp, and returns home from school in tears. (Like Amy March in “Little Women,” Clara is allowed to learn at home from then on.) She studies medical books and acts as a veterinarian to the family’s farm animals. When Davie breaks both his legs falling from the barn’s roof beam, she attends him, proud when a doctor compliments her, saying, “Well, girly, you did exactly what I would have done.”

Readers may prefer Polacco’s narrative to her trademark illustrations. She uses pencil very heavily and colors her pages with lots of browns and grays, to dreary effect. Though the illustrations showing Clara and Davie at play outside are more cheerful, Polacco’s characters’ faces often look overly dramatic — the happy ones, slightly manic; the sad ones at the point of total despair. There’s expression in these drawings, to be sure, but they may leave some children thinking wistfully of Garth Williams’s pictures for Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little House” books, which somehow convey emotion and setting more attractively — even without any color at all.

Picture-book biographies are tricky to get right. Too much information, and the content will begin to exceed the range of young readers. How can a child with almost no knowledge of European geography or history make anything of references to the Battle of Balaclava (now strangely in the news again)? The facts they will understand are mostly emotional ones: small acts of kindness or bravery that somehow hint at a character’s potential to eventually do great things. Polacco is more successful at this, but Demi’s book offers visual pleasures that children may respond to more enthusiastically.

FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE

Written and illustrated by Demi

40 pp. Henry Holt & Company. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 6 to 10)

CLARA AND DAVIE

Written and illustrated by Patricia Polacco

40 pp. Scholastic Press. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 5 to 8)

7 Crippling Parent Behaviors That Keep Children From Growing Into Leaders

7 Crippling Parenting Behaviors That Keep Children From Growing Into Leaders

While I spend my professional time now as a career success coach, writer, and leadership trainer, I was a marriage and family therapist in my past, and worked for several years with couples, families, and children. Through that experience, I witnessed a very wide array of both functional and dysfunctional parenting behaviors. As a parent myself, I’ve learned that all the wisdom and love in the world doesn’t necessarily protect you from parenting in ways that hold your children back from thriving, gaining independence and becoming the leaders they have the potential to be.

I was intrigued, then, to catch up with leadership expert Dr. Tim Elmore and learn more about how we as parents are failing our children today — coddling and crippling them — and keeping them from becoming leaders they are destined to be. Tim is a best-selling author of more than 25 books, including Generation iY: Our Last Chance to Save Their Future, Artificial Maturity: Helping Kids Meet the Challenges of Becoming Authentic Adults, and the Habitudes® series. He is Founder and President of Growing Leaders, an organization dedicated to mentoring today’s young people to become the leaders of tomorrow.
Tim had this to share about the 7 damaging parenting behaviors that keep children from becoming leaders – of their own lives and of the world’s enterprises:
1. We don’t let our children experience risk
We live in a world that warns us of danger at every turn. The “safety first” preoccupation enforces our fear of losing our kids, so we do everything we can to protect them. It’s our job after all, but we have insulated them from healthy risk-taking behavior and it’s had an adverse effect. Psychologists in Europe have discovered that if a child doesn’t play outside and is never allowed to experience a skinned knee, they frequently have phobias as adults. Kids need to fall a few times to learn it’s normal; teens likely need to break up with a boyfriend or girlfriend to appreciate the emotional maturity that lasting relationships require. If parents remove risk from children’s lives, we will likely experience high arrogance and low self-esteem in our growing leaders.
2. We rescue too quickly
Today’s generation of young people has not developed some of the life skills kids did 30 years ago because adults swoop in and take care of problems for them. When we rescue too quickly and over-indulge our children with “assistance,” we remove the need for them to navigate hardships and solve problems on their own. It’s parenting for the short-term and it sorely misses the point of leadership—to equip our young people to do it without help. Sooner or later, kids get used to someone rescuing them: “If I fail or fall short, an adult will smooth things over and remove any consequences for my misconduct.” When in reality, this isn’t even remotely close to how the world works, and therefore it disables our kids from becoming competent adults.
3. We rave too easily
The self-esteem movement has been around since Baby Boomers were kids, but it took root in our school systems in the 1980s. Attend a little league baseball game and you’ll see that everyone is a winner. This “everyone gets a trophy” mentality might make our kids feel special, but research is now indicating this method has unintended consequences. Kids eventually observe that Mom and Dad are the only ones who think they’re awesome when no one else is saying it. They begin to doubt the objectivity of their parents; it feels good in the moment, but it’s not connected to reality. When we rave too easily and disregard poor behavior, children eventually learn to cheat, exaggerate and lie and to avoid difficult reality. They have not been conditioned to face it.
4. We let guilt get in the way of leading well
Your child does not have to love you every minute. Your kids will get over the disappointment, but they won’t get over the effects of being spoiled. So tell them “no” or “not now,” and let them fight for what they really value and need. As parents, we tend to give them what they want when rewarding our children, especially with multiple kids. When one does well in something, we feel it’s unfair to praise and reward that one and not the other. This is unrealistic and misses an opportunity to enforce the point to our kids that success is dependent upon our own actions and good deeds. Be careful not to teach them a good grade is rewarded by a trip to the mall. If your relationship is based on material rewards, kids will experience neither intrinsic motivation nor unconditional love.
5. We don’t share our past mistakes
Healthy teens are going to want to spread their wings and they’ll need to try things on their own. We as adults must let them, but that doesn’t mean we can’t help them navigate these waters. Share with them the relevant mistakes you made when you were their age in a way that helps them learn to make good choices. (Avoid negative “lessons learned” having to do with smoking, alcohol, illegal drugs, etc.) Also, kids must prepare to encounter slip-ups and face the consequences of their decisions. Share how you felt when you faced a similar experience, what drove your actions, and the resulting lessons learned. Because we’re not the only influence on our kids, we must be the best influence.
6. We mistake intelligence, giftedness and influence for maturity
Intelligence is often used as a measurement of a child’s maturity, and as a result parents assume an intelligent child is ready for the world. That’s not the case. Some professional athletes and Hollywood starlets, for example, possess unimaginable talent, but still get caught in a public scandal. Just because giftedness is present in one aspect of a child’s life, don’t assume it pervades all areas. There is no magic “age of responsibility” or a proven guide as to when a child should be given specific freedoms, but a good rule of thumb is to observe other children the same age as yours. If you notice that they are doing more themselves than your child does, you may be delaying your child’s independence.
7. We don’t practice what we preach

As parents, it is our responsibility to model the life we want our children to live. To help them lead a life of character and become dependable and accountable for their words and actions. As the leaders of our homes, we can start by only speaking honest words – white lies will surface and slowly erode character. Watch yourself in the little ethical choices that others might notice, because your kids will notice too. If you don’t cut corners, for example, they will know it’s not acceptable for them to either. Show your kids what it means to give selflessly and joyfully by volunteering for a service project or with a community group. Leave people and places better than you found them, and your kids will take note and do the same.

Home-Front Heroines

‘Founding Mothers,’ by Cokie Roberts

FEB. 19, 2014

Credit From "Founding Mothers: Remembering the Ladies"

Children’s Books

By SARAH HARRISON SMITH

Ten years ago, Cokie Roberts, the political commentator and contributor to National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition,” published “Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation.” Now she has distilled that much longer work about women’s roles at the time of the American Revolution to create “Founding Mothers: Remembering the Ladies,” a picture book intended for children from 7 to 12, engagingly illustrated by Diane Goode.

Among the women Roberts profiles are first ladies Martha Washington, Abigail Adams and Dolley Madison; Benjamin Franklin’s wife, Deborah, who ran the postal service for years while Franklin was overseas; and Esther DeBerdt Reed, an Englishwoman who, after moving with her American husband to Boston, became so loyal to the Revolution that she wrote a rousing newspaper article, “Sentiments of an American Woman,” encouraging support of the troops.

Though most of these “ladies” were from relatively elite backgrounds, Roberts includes the prodigy-poet Phillis Wheatley, a slave who was educated and eventually freed by the family who bought her. Roberts also writes shorter entries on women who gained fame as “warriors” for the Revolutionary cause, like Deborah Sampson (disguised as “Robert Shurtleff,” she fought in the Army until a doctor discovered her secret) and Margaret Corbin (after her husband was killed in the Battle of Fort Washington, she manned his artillery position despite suffering gunshot wounds).

Roberts describes her ladies as fully as she can, given the picture-book format and the sometimes limited historical record. As she notes, women’s letters were rarely preserved; Martha Washington burned most of her correspondence with her husband after his death, though John Adams’s animated correspondence with Abigail Adams survived.

Throughout, Roberts’s style and tone is warm and casual, bringing a feeling of immediacy to distant 18th-century lives: “These women were feisty and funny and flirty. And they were great patriots — completely devoted to the American cause.” She marvels that Eliza Lucas Pinckney, who as a teenager ran her father’s three plantations, figured out, when none of her neighbors could, how to grow indigo, in great demand as a textile dye. “Indigo,” Roberts says, “became the biggest money-making crop in South Carolina before the American Revolution, and a 19-year-old girl had made that happen.”

Much better than contemporary paintings could do, Goode’s illustrations, in of-the-era pen and ink, help define the spirit of the women whose lives Roberts sketches. With their determined, amused glances and double chins, they look well prepared for the task of nation-building. In places, realism shifts toward fancy: Mercy Otis Warren, an influential writer, appears sitting in the leaves of an open book, sheets of foolscap fluttering out from under her busy quill. Goode studied her subjects’ handwriting so thoroughly that Roberts teases, in an afterword, “She could start a new career as a counterfeiter.” You don’t have to be a graphologist to find interesting and suggestive the differences between Martha Washington’s unsteady schoolgirl signature and Phillis Wheatley’s elegant, carefully slanted one.

There’s so much that’s entertaining and inspiring in “Founding Mothers” that it’s too bad the book’s structure makes it less useful than it might be. On one hand, the sophistication of the text makes it appropriate for older children, but in general, children interested in its stories will have grown out of reading picture books. And with no table of contents, the ordering of the biographical entries feels haphazard and difficult to navigate. A reader interested in Phillis Wheatley, for example, would have no way of knowing she was included in the book without flipping through it page by page. Roberts provides a short list of online resources for further research, which is helpful, but a student preparing a history project or simply curious to learn more would need footnotes. Yet Roberts certainly succeeds in providing an accessible and very attractive introduction to the entrepreneurial, resolute, daring and brave ladies of the Revolution, whom George Washington attested were “in the number of the best patriots America can boast.”

When, and How, to Let Learners Struggle

When, And How, To Let Learners Struggle

Monday, February 24, 2014

“Let them eat cake,” said Marie Antoinette. Should teachers, parents, and managers say of the learners in their charge, “Let them struggle”?
Allowing learners to struggle will actually help them learn better, according to research on “productive failure” conducted by Manu Kapur, a researcher at the Learning Sciences Lab at the National Institute of Education of Singapore. Kapur’s investigations find that while the model adopted by many teachers and employers when introducing others to new knowledge—providing lots of structure and guidance early on, until the students or workers show that they can do it on their own—makes intuitive sense, it’s not the best way to promote learning. Rather, it’s better to let neophytes wrestle with the material on their own for a while, refraining from giving them any assistance at the start.
In a recent study published in the Journal of the Learning Sciences, Kapur and a co-author, Katerine Bielaczyc, applied the principle of productive failure to mathematical problem solving in three schools in Singapore. With one group of students, the teacher provided intensive “scaffolding”—instructional support—and feedback. With the teacher’s help, these pupils were able to find the answers to their set of problems.
Meanwhile, a second group was directed to solve the same problems by collaborating with one another, absent any prompts from their instructor. These students weren’t able to complete the problems correctly. But in the course of trying to do so, they generated a lot of ideas about the nature of the problems and about what potential solutions would look like. And when the two groups were tested on what they’d learned, the second group “significantly outperformed” the first.
The struggles of the second group have what Kapur calls a “hidden efficacy”: they lead people to understand the deep structure of problems, not simply their correct solutions. When these students encounter a new problem of the same type on a test, they’re able to transfer the knowledge they’ve gathered more effectively than those who were the passive recipients of someone else’s expertise.
In the real world, problems rarely come neatly packaged, so being able to discern their deep structure is key. But, Kapur notes, none of us like to fail, no matter how often Silicon Valley entrepreneurs praise the salutary effects of an idea that flops or a start-up that crashes and burns. So, he says, we need to “design for productive failure” by intentionally managing the way learners fail.
Kapur has identified three conditions that promote a beneficial struggle. First, choose problems to work on that “challenge but do not frustrate.” Second, provide learners with opportunities to explain and elaborate on what they’re doing. Third, give learners the chance to compare and contrast good and bad solutions to the problems.
By allowing learners to experience the discomfort of struggle first, and the triumph of understanding second, we can ensure that they have their cake and eat it, too.

New Parental Controls Nix the Fear, Up the Features

From simple content filters to robust home network solutions, new parental controls offer a range of media-management options.

Caroline Knorr February 10, 2014

Many parents subscribe to the "cross your fingers and hope for the best" philosophy of managing their kids' online access. But even if you've had the conversations around screen-time limits, responsible online behavior, and safety precautions, it's still really tough to manage what kids do when you're not there (and even when you are). Parental controls -- the real, technical kind -- can support you in your efforts to keep your kids' Internet experiences safe, fun, and productive. They work best when used openly and honestly in partnership with your kids.
Thankfully, a new crop of parental controls offers a lot more features and flexibility than previous versions that were overly restrictive and too easy to defeat and that preyed on parents' fears about online risks. These updated solutions also reflect a new, more progressive philosophy about parental controls: They're way more pro-Internet and less fear-mongering. Of course, nothing is entirely fail-safe -- and you'll still want to have conversations about making good choices.
Only you can determine the level of protection you need for your family. Here's a primer:

Operating systems: Both Microsoft's Windows and Apple's Mac OS come with built-in parental controls. When you create user accounts, you can select different protections for different users. To get the most benefits, you need to use the most updated version of the operating system. The Android operating system doesn't have built-in controls -- but there are many parental-control apps for Android.
Good to know: Operating-system parental controls work well because they apply globally to everything the computer accesses.
Good for: All ages.
Web browsers: Browsers -- that software you use to go online -- offer different ways of filtering out websites you don't want your kids to visit. Safari, Chrome, and Internet Explorer all allow you to type in specific websites and domains (which apply to whole categories of sites, such as porn) that you want to block. If you use Firefox, you need to download an add-on, because the basic browser does not offer content filters.
Good to know: Browser-specific solutions don't carry over to other browsers. So if you have more than one browser on your machine, you need to enable filters on all of them.
Good for: Younger kids. Older kids -- especially very determined ones -- can easily defeat browser restrictions either by figuring out your password or simply downloading a new browser.
Kids' browsers: Sometimes called "walled gardens," these are protected environments that fill up your entire screen (so kids can't click out of them). They're sort of a cross between an operating system and a browser designed specifically for kids with games, preapproved websites, email, and various activities. Examples include Zoodles, Kido'z, and Kidzui.
Good to know: Kids' browsers are typically free for the basic version, but they cost money (usually a monthly subscription fee) for a premium upgrade. The ones that are entirely free usually offer content that the company has licensed from a kid-friendly provider -- and may display ads or promotional content.
Good for: Younger kids. Walled gardens are too limiting for older kids who need (or are allowed) greater access to the wider Web.
Computer-software controls: These are the classic, full-featured parental-control programs that let you block websites, impose screen-time limits, and monitor online activity (for example, which sites your kid visits). Many of these programs also offer added security against malware and viruses and will send you a summary of what your kid did online. Products in this category include NetNanny, Qustodio, Safe Eyes, and BSecure.
Good to know: Because they are so full-featured, computer-software-controls programs carry a high initial cost plus a monthly subscription fee.
Good for: Kids of all ages -- and especially kids who need a lot of support in following your rules.
Mobile devices: Some mobile devices have rudimentary parental controls -- but the options vary a lot depending on what you have. At the very least, without downloading anything extra, you may be able to prevent unwanted purchases (including in-app purchases), restrict what kind of content can be downloaded (M-rated games, for example), and delete or hide apps and functions you don't want your kid to use (such as video chatting). Amazon's growing family of Kindle Fire tablets come preloaded with Kindle FreeTime parental controls.
Good to know: To add content filters to your kids' mobile device, you'll need to disable its existing browser and download a kid-friendly browser or a content-filtering app such as Mobicip (Apple), AVG Family Safety (Windows), or Kid Mode: Kids Games and Videos (Android).
Good for: Younger kids. Once kids get older, they will either resist any attempt to limit their access or simply figure out a way to defeat what you've restricted.
Home networking: Having trouble managing what kids access on their mobile devices? Are Internet-enabled devices mushrooming throughout your house? If so, you may want a more robust solution. Take a look at your Internet router -- that thing that brings the Internet into your house. You can get a software program such as OpenDNS, which works with your existing router to filter Internet content. Or consider a hardware/software solution such as Skydog, which lets you manage Internet access and usage for every networked device and every user. Skydog incorporates Common Sense Media's website reviews to make it easy for kids stay on age-appropriate sites.
Good to know: These router-based solutions apply to an unlimited number of devices in the house connected by WiFi (including smartphones), and they prevent unwanted content from entering your home.
Good for: All ages.

STEM is Taking Over the 2014 Toy Fair

STEM Is Taking Over the 2014 Toy Fair!

What do you think of when you hear the word STEM? Maybe the stem of a plant, stem cells, or maybe you'll think of STEM fields: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. If you think of the latter, then your thinking is in-line with much of the toy industry as we head into the 111th American International Toy Fair that will take place in New York City from February 16 to 19.
Our children are our future and that future learns through play. For the last few years, we have watched as high-tech gadgets adults love have also become kids' favorite playthings. Watching babies swipe their tiny fingers across their parents' tablets before they can even speak is no longer an unusual sight.
The toy industry is a $22 billion industry (give or take a few bucks) and toy companies are challenged with integrating the excitement of 21st century-tech into toys for kids. I recently had a conversation with a PR person from Apple, and she mentioned that they are not a toy company. I laughed, and told her to ask any kid who is 8, 9, 10, or 11-years-old what they want and they will tell you an iPhone, an iPad, or an iPod touch. So where does this leave the toy companies? If you ask me -- it's a totally new playing field, and many toy companies are ready and coming to bat.
Lets start with our two biggest toy companies, Mattel and Hasbro. Both companies recognize the changes in this new generation of kids, and both have tweaked and improved their product offerings to include tech elements to satisfy new play patterns. They have created toys that are great playthings on their own, but are enhanced by adding the tech component. Mattel's Disney Princess Ultimate Dream Castle was a fantastic example last holiday season, as it was a stand-alone play set but also worked with an iOS app to give kids great augmented reality experiences.

Similarly, Hasbro has expanded its Furby line this year to include Furbling Friends (which were only virtual last year). Furblings interact with an app and kids can expand their physical play into the virtual world by feeding Furblings, dancing with them, or even giving them a shower. But the evolution of play goes beyond just technological advancements -- it takes you back to STEM.

Last year we began to see toys and robots that kids built, programmed, and then played with. Lego's Mindstorms EV3 allowed kids ages 10 and up to build a robot and then program it to walk, talk, and more. The robotics arena will definitely expand this year, as it encourages kids who can program their toys and robots to make a natural transition to more challenging projects and to a world of new careers as they get older. Just like the older generation took typing in high school (OK, aging myself here!), welcome to the new 2014 version of home economics and woodworking.

Kids are learning life skills with toys, and companies that have remained small and under the radar, such as Thames and Kosmos, are on-trend to deliver the kind of play patterns kids love. This company has always made one of my favorite lines of science projects and experiments. But as technology and engineering continue to get more interesting and advanced, this company has carved out a place for themselves in offering kids ages 6 to 14 a chance to become fully immersed in STEM. Their smart car is just one example.

Finally, the kids' tablet marketplace is rapidly expanding as they helps kids learn skills they need. Toy companies will continue to deliver sleeker, faster, and better tablets at competitive price points for kids of all ages. Toddlers will begin this journey with tablets and other learning devices from companies such as Leapfrog and VTech, and middle school kids will transition to full-functioning tablets from companies such as Apple and Amazon, and especially to tablets created for the family to share, such as the XO and the Camilio, from Sakar; and the Kurio from Techno Source. Take note of this last tablet as this year's Kurio will not only continue to feature what I think is the best in parental controls, but it will now also be a kids' first smartphone.
Toy Fair will offer up plenty of wonderful traditional toys this year, such as dolls, action figures, games, and puzzles. These classic toys are equally as important as new-age tech toys, as there are learning elements in all forms of play, such as teamwork, patience, make believe, and so much more. That said, STEM is sure to be an important buzzword this year as kids prepare for the future through educational play.