The safety experts at Cook Children’s say kids can’t afford anything less than 100 percent adult supervision at the pool at all times. That means not taking your eyes off of a child while he or she is in the water.

Forgive the safety experts at Cook Children’s if they are coming across as bossy or even condemning, but they are at their wits’ end trying to find a message that will stop the tragic amounts of drownings over the past few summers. 

But they have come with a response: Lifeguard Your Child. And that starts with putting away perhaps the greatest competion for a grownup's attention - their smartphone.

“We understand the need for a phone at the pool, in case of emergencies, but those phones need to be put away until you leave the swimming area,” said Dana Walraven, Community Health Outreach manager at Cook Children’s and Safe Kids Tarrant County Coordinator. “Parents should only be spending time watching their kids and not on the phone.”

Smartphones have changed the way we look at the world, but it’s also made it much easier to be distracted and not pay attention to what is happening right in front of us.

Nonfatal injuries to children under age 5 rose 12 percent between 2007 and 2010, after injury rates were steadily falling the previous decade. During that same time period, smartphone users increased from 9 million in mid-2007 to 63 million at the end of 2010.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates more than 1,100 people a day are injured in car crashes that involved a distracted driver.

Sharon Evans, Trauma Injury Prevention/Outreach coordinator for Cook Children’s Medical Center says she would like to see similar research into distracted adults and drownings.

But she doesn’t need stats to know that it’s the adult’s responsibility to stay focused on the children, and nothing else, while they are swimming.

“Parents are distracted enough with people around them talking, eating and everything going on in their lives. After a hard day they may even zone out for a little while. But parents can’t afford to be distracted and that includes using their smart phones while their child is in the water,” Evans said. “I don’t think parents understand how quickly and quietly drowning occurs. There is no thrashing, no yelling for help. The drowning child is just trying to push down on the water to get their head above the surface to gasp a breath of air.”

Walraven reminds parents it takes only two seconds for a drowning to occur.

She encourages any adult watching children at the pool, including parents grandparents, family friends or babysitters, to use Water Watcher system if possible where the grownups at the pool take shifts with the sole responsibility of keeping an eye on the children swimming at all times.

They are expected to stay sober and focused during their 15 minute shift or if they are the only one out there, to stay alert the whole time. This isn't a job for kids, even older children. Walraven said this is a job solely for the adults. It shouldn’t be the responsibility of a teen. The younger person may be easily distracted, have trouble pulling the child out of the water and in case of a fatal drowning, the child could be scarred for life.

“This is definitely a job for a grownup, but that means acting like an adult,” Walraven said. “Many drownings occur when a caregiver is present. But being ‘present’ or being ‘there’ is not enough, you have to watch and be involved. Drowning is silent so keep your eyes on the water, not the phone. A text is not worth the risk and it’s certainly not worth your child losing his or her life.”

Other resources:

• Drowning prevention page at Cook Children's
• 9 ways to protect your child from drowning
• Is your baby ready for swim lessons?
• This life-saving tip could prevent your child from drowning
• Life after drowning
• Be a water watcher. Adult supervisions saves lives.
• Drowning tragedy - 'I can't believe this happened to me.'
• The life-saving reason for Water Watchers

After all since its release on July 6, Pokémon Go has become a sensation. It’s already on more than 51 percent of all Android phones in the United States, as well as the top free app and top grossing app in the U.S. on the iPhone App store. Oh and parents, users are spending an average of 43 minutes a day playing the game.

So what the heck is all this about?

Pokémon Go is an “augmented-reality game” that allows players to hunt for digital Pokémon on their smartphones. The creators of the game use GPS and an algorithm where players find and capture Pokémon characters at various locations.

So kids are outside exploring looking for the characters. That beats staying on the couch. But there’s also concern that comes with the exploratory nature of the game.

Kim Mangham, M.D., a Cook Children’s pediatrician in Keller, says this game makes it difficult for kids to be aware of their surroundings.

“We know there are benefits to exercise and being in nature,” said Kim Mangham, M.D., a Cook Children’s pediatrician. “I like that kids are getting outside with this game, but kids are at risk because they are looking at their phones and not paying attention to their surroundings. They could trip or fall on a curb, branch or sidewalk. I worry about kids looking at the game near traffic or grownups or teens looking at the game while driving or riding on a bike.”

And then there’s that GPS aspect of the game that is a concern.

In Missouri, the O’Fallon Police Department sent out an alert of multiple armed robberies in the area. The suspects, who were caught, targeted their victims through Pokémon Go. The police believe the robbers used the app to locate people standing around in the middle of a parking lot or other secluded areas.

The Pokémon Company International and Niantic, the app’s makers, released a joint statement:

"We encourage all people playing Pokémon GO to be aware of their surroundings and to play with friends when going to new or unfamiliar places. Please remember to be safe and alert at all times."

Justin Smith, M.D., Cook Children’s medical advisor of digital health, says parents should talk to their kids about playing Pokémon Go and offers these helpful tips:

1. Talk to your kids about stranger-danger and set limits on where your kids can go. Keep them in your neighborhood and walk with your younger children.
2. Don’t play the game while riding your bike, hoverboard or skateboard. Make sure your older teens know they shouldn’t play and drive.
3. Play with friends only.
4. Don’t go into stranger’s yards or homes while trying to catch a Pokémon.
5. Look up while playing the game. Watch where you are going.

“This is a game that seemingly everyone is playing right now. It would be great if parents participate with their own kids if they are going to allow them to play Pokémon Go,” Dr. Smith said. “It can be a fun way to get kids out exercising, but they also need to use caution.”

The troubling trend I have noticed is with a parental mindset that more equates to a “bestie” than a mom or dad. Your child is not an adult. I am not a child psychologist, so I will not wade through those waters. But, from a perspective of someone who performs root cause analysis of incidents, I must say there are dangers associated with a lax parental structure.

I could give a thousand examples of situations where your child should not have total privacy in their lives. Do you keep up with your child’s grades in school or simply leave it up to them to pass or fail? Do you ask them where they are going when they leave the house or do they have complete privacy and freedom to go wherever they want? Would you want to know if they were getting into something dangerous or making a bad life choice?

I do not understand the opposition; but, I do recognize there are those in opposition to using spyware to keep tabs on what their kids are doing online. All I can say to such opposition is I simply do not agree. This does not mean that I am going to read every conversation they have with their friends. This does not mean I am going to keep track of every single detail of every single site they visit. I am keeping eyes on their activity and can be in a position to recognize when I may need to step in and give guidance.

In performing research on the subject and talking to experts regarding child online safety, a few things tend to float to the surface of the sea of information.

1. You tend to get very few physical queues. Picture your child sitting on the couch with their face aglow from the light of their iPad. What are they doing? They could be watching a music video or chatting with a stranger. Switching from one activity to another does not tend to change their outward appearance or mannerisms. I call this the virtually induced poker face.
2. They feel secure in their environment.  They say hindsight is twenty-twenty. This one can be difficult to explain, so let me put it this way: If your child were in a dark alley and was being approached by the silhouette of a large man, they may become apprehensive, keep their guard up, or become standoffish and not be willing to participate in a conversation. However, if your child feels physically secure in the comfort of your home, they may be more than willing to participate in that conversation. That could lead to them being groomed by a predator.
3. A child doesn’t typically recognize the dangers until it is too late. Online predators are not stupid. While they are morally bankrupt, malicious, calloused, brazen and cruel, the successful ones can be rather intelligent. They are master manipulators with a ton of patience and have the tenacity to stick with a target. They find weaknesses and play on them. They weasel their way into a relationship with the child. They comfort them, take their side on issues, and lure them in. By the time your child recognizes they are in danger, it could be too late.

There are real and proven dangers to allowing a child to have complete privacy and freedom in the virtual world.

I don’t like to cite applications in articles because these articles tend to live on when apps die, the name gets changed, or something even better comes along. However, I will make an exception in this case. Currently, my top pick for spyware in regards to monitoring children is PhoneSheriff. PhoneSheriff has the ability to monitor and alert on a large variety of activity, it offers extensive alert and restriction functionality, and is compatible with any major device type.

Another really good spyware product is Mobistealth. While MobiStealth may be prettier, it is also more expensive than PhoneSheriff and, for me, it has one major weakness. MobiStealth does not give you “Geofencing”. Geofencing allows you to set alerts based on the geographical location of the device. An example of this would be setting up a geofence for your child’s school and another geofence for your home. If your child is supposed to leave school at around 4 p.m. and be home at around 4:30 p.m, you would be alerted when your child (device in hand) left the school and when they arrived home. If the times are off, you would know.

As I stated, these recommendations may change over time. Depending on when you read this, you may need to search for “Best Spyware Apps” and do a little research on your own.

Just remember, you are the parent. If your child has a phone or other device, it is because you allowed them to have that device. I do not recommend giving such devices as gifts and I make it crystal clear to my kids that they are borrowing my phone that is on my plan that is paid for by me and I can shut it off anytime I wish. I do not allow them to have passwords I do not know, I do not allow them to lock me out of the phone, I do not allow them to take the phone to the bathroom or their bedroom with the door closed, and I also have a rule that the phone must be charged at night in my bedroom.

I suggest a combination of prevention and monitoring.

Happy parenting and good luck!

Over the past several years, I have been actively speaking to parents, children, tweens, teens, and young adults regarding the dangers of the Internet and social media. I discovered rather quickly that I could not prepare a single set of presentations to use over and over again. Rather, I need to conduct new and fresh research for every single presentation I do, regardless of how much time has passed from one to the next.

Why? Because that is how fast things change in the world of technology and online interactions.

I am not going to go on a long rant about immorality or express my true feelings about the class of a person it takes to create certain apps for monetary gain, all the while knowing full well that children can and will fall victim while using those apps; instead, I am going to stick with the matter at hand.

Parents, you need to be aware that truly dangerous apps exist and are readily available to your children. And, if you are reading this as a young person or young adult who thinks I am being condescending, tough. In order to write an article such as this that is intended to reach the parents of potential victims, I have to be general in my assumptions and sweeping in my aim. I would rather offend you than not get the message out to someone that could prevent a devastating, life altering event for a child.

In my presentations to parents, I list a handful of apps; however, you have to understand that there are literally millions of apps available and, even those apps where the intended purpose by the app’s creator may be innocent, can be used dangerously. The reverse is also applicable; however, with the apps I am about to showcase, it is unlikely that they would be used in a benign way. With that, let’s talk about them:

1. SeekingArrangement.com - Brandon Wade is the founder of this site and supporting apps are available on GooglePlay for Android devices as well as iTunes for all iOS devices. SeekingArrangement identifies itself as a “sugar daddy dating app”. While discussing SeekingArrangement, it is also important to note that Brandon Wade also created an app called CarrotDating. CarrotDating (no longer available at the time this article was written) was an app that was borderline prostitution in the same way backpage.com ads are also “borderline” prostitution. The “borderline” is fairly evident. Although CarrotDating has been nixed, the philosophy behind the trend is still evident… bribes for dates. Of course, “dates” can be defined in ways other than going out to dinner and a movie.

2. Yik Yak – This App is one of the most dangerous. It allows users to post text-only “Yaks,” or messages, of up to 200 characters. The messages have no filter and can be viewed by the 500 Yakkers who are closest to the person who wrote the Yak, as determined by GPS tracking. Users are exposed to – and contributing to – sexually explicit content, abusive language, and personal attacks so severe that schools are starting to block the App on their Wi-Fi. Although the posts are anonymous, kids start revealing personal information as they get more comfortable with other users. This app is a rumor machine and a perfect channel for the kinds of bullies who hide behind a screen, hurting other people behind a shield of anonymity.

3. Ask.fm – This app allows users to ask a specific person anonymous questions. Users can answer these questions and posts them to their personal page, truly leaving nothing to the imagination. This is especially dangerous because it allows any user to target a specific person anonymously. Bullies, predators, and more can send anonymous messages to a specific person, asking them inappropriate things or even simply making hurtful statements.

4. Kik Messenger – This is a private messenger app and is coveted by those under 18 for a number of reasons. The App allows kids to send private messages that their parents can’t see. This app also allows users to identify themselves by a made up username, posing the dangers of anonymity. To make matters even scarier, third party websites allow users to search for people based on things like age and gender. There is very little you can do to verify the identity of someone on Kik, which obviously poses the risk of sexual predators chatting with your child. And again, this is an easy tool for sexting. Just last month, a 13 year old girl was murdered by a man she presumably met on Kik Messenger. 

5. Omegle – This App has been around since 2008, with video chat added in 2009. When you use Omegle you do not identify yourself through the service – chat participants are only identified as “You” and “Stranger;” the app’s slogan is “Talk to Strangers!” You don't have to register for the App. However, you can connect Omegle to your Facebook account to find chat partners with similar interests. When choosing this feature, an Omegle Facebook App will receive your Facebook “likes” and try to match you with a stranger with similar likes. This is not okay for children. This app is the perfect channel for sexual predators. Experts say these predators blackmail young children, by starting inappropriate conversations with them, then threatening to send the messages, photos, or videos to their parents if they tell anybody, therefore trapping the child in a disgusting, dangerous situation. 

6. Whisper – This is a meeting App that encourages users to post secrets. You post anonymously, but it displays the area you are posting from. You can search for users posting within a mile from you. You are also able to communicate with users who post secrets. A quick look at the App and you can see that online relationships are forming constantly on this App, but you never know the person behind the computer or phone. One man in Washington was convicted of raping a 12-year-old girl he met on this App just last year. 

7. After School – This app is a message board that students can join by scanning their school I.D. or Facebook profile. While the scanning feature provides some security from outside users, once in the app, the user is anonymous. However, this app effortlessly creates drama and conflict among users because they all attend the same school. Students are able to freely post about anything. This year, a single school had problems with posts that included topless photos, alarmingly vulgar posts from males talking about fellow female students, and more. There is even a section where students can scan their driver’s license and enter a discussion only for students ages 17 and up, openly creating an environment for the discussion of more explicit material.

As with my presentations, articles such as this are a moving target as things get more troublesome by the minute. The biggest problem is that these apps make money. Because of this, more apps get developed that push the envelope of morality and safety. Look, if the developers could ensure the apps would only be used between consenting adults, I wouldn’t have a problem with all of this; however, the only way to ensure that to any reasonable level is to pretty much kill the app’s revenue streams. Because of this, we must remain diligent and be ever on the lookout for the next worst thing that could fall into the hands of our children. These apps make criminals out of cowards.

Please note: You can turn location services, or GPS, off on cell phones by going in to the device settings. This will keep the Apps and photos from posting the exact location or whereabouts of the phone user.

About the author

Jody S. Hawkins, Information Systems Security Officer, has been in technology for medical facilities since early 2000 and has been practicing for more than 20 years with his start in the United States Air Force. He is a part of Cook Children's Experts on Call Speakers Bureau. Hawkins specializes in privacy and technology safety and is a regular speaker at the National HIT/HIPAA Conference. He has been quoted and published in several national publications, including Health Information Management Magazine.

Hawkins' can speak on a variety of security topics facing our children & parents today, including:

• Social media
• Cyber bullying
• Sexting
• Safety online (Parents & Child)
• General home networking security
• Virtual Child (Parents)
• Internet Safety (Parents & Child)

At best, the mom is rolling her eyes and pulling her phone out to hand to her screaming child.

“Children under 2 years of age should have no screen time and after 2 years, we should limit screen time to 2 hours per day.”

There is the common summary statement that can be taken out of the AAP Policy Statement on Children, Adolescents and the Media.

Is this realistic?

Is this practical?

Is anyone listening to anything we say?

In May, a meeting of the best minds in the use of media in pediatrics set out to answer these questions as well as look at recent research on the use of screens in children and teenagers.

In order to get information about the meeting out quickly, AAP News released a summary of some of the thoughts that came out of the meeting.

If you read the headlines that were generated as a result of the statement, you might have heard:

“Pediatricians think all screen time is OK. Go for it!”

“Pediatricians finally admit that they were dead wrong and outdated when they said toddlers shouldn’t use screens.”

“Pediatric guidelines now changed to allow for more screen time, at earlier ages.”

Unfortunately, we don’t always get the time to fully explain our message and the media doesn’t always get it right.

Here are my takeaways from the statement that I hope better reflect the intent of the authors:

1. What you might have heard: “Pediatricians think all screen time is OK. Go for it!”

What it should have said: “We need to continue to be careful about the amount of time children are on screens. Guiding them toward quality apps and games that are more than just watching a video is important. Watching and playing alongside your children helps to enrich the experience for the family as a whole.”

2. What you might have heard: “Pediatricians finally admit that they were dead wrong and outdated when they said toddlers shouldn’t use screens.”

What it should have said: “The benefit of screen time for toddlers is an ongoing topic of research but it is clear that children continue to learn best from interacting with and talking to other humans. One of the major risk of screen time is the time take away from rich interaction with parents and other caregivers.”

3. What you might have heard: “Pediatric guidelines now changed to allow for more screen time, at earlier ages.”

What it should have said: “While this statement is not a new guideline, it does highlight the AAP commitment to following new research in regards to screen use and helping to relay that information to parents as soon as possible. As more information comes available, we will update our guidelines to reflect current studies in the context of practical media use for children.

Do continue to follow this debate because the guidelines are likely to change over time. (P.S. That’s what guidelines should do in a new and heavily researched field.)

Don’t go out and buy your 1 year old her own iPad.

It took that long to outrage a country from what was seen and heard by members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at the University of Oklahoma chanting a racial epithet on a bus.

While the video shows that we haven’t progressed as far as most of us would like as a society, it also proves once again that our children need to learn the life-changing consequences of going viral.

Jody S. Hawkins, Information Systems Security Officer at Cook Children’s, gives a presentation to children called, “The Virtual World.” He explains the permanence of everything we post to the Internet.

“Like a face tattoo, the things your child posts to the Internet in public forums could be discoverable by potential college recruiters, employers or those out to paint your child’s character in a negative way,” Hawkins said. “What does your child aspire to be when he or she grows up? Are the things your children are doing on the Internet today going to have a negative impact on that career choice?”

Considering the speed of today’s technology, it’s important for kids to understand that everything they do is permanent, even if it’s been deleted. Thanks to screen shots, a careless text message can be frozen in time and put on social networking sites, forever subject to public scrutiny.

Hawkins recommends parents talk with their kids and express the need for self-control when they interact with others, even when they aren’t speaking face-to-face. Explain the importance of cooling off before sending that angry text message, commenting on a blog or posting an aggressive Facebook status. And if someone is doing something inappropriate, walk away or don’t participate. Everyone has a recording device in their hands these days.

A study from the University of Massachusetts’ Center for Market Research found that 21 percent of college admissions offices research their applicants via social media sites. An offensive blog post could overrule a stellar SAT score and change a university’s admission invitation.

“Kids don’t think about the harms they could be causing themselves,” Hawkins said. “They tend to have this, ‘Look ma, no hands’ mentality while we watch them and freak out. But those split second decisions can have forever consequences.”

About the source

Jody S. Hawkins, Information Systems Security Officer, has been in technology for medical facilities since early 2000 and has been practicing for more than 20 years with his start in the United States Air Force. He is a part of Cook Children's Experts on Call Speakers Bureau. Hawkins specializes in privacy and technology safety and is a regular speaker at the National HIT/HIPAA Conference. He has been quoted and published in several national publications, including Health Information Management Magazine.

Hawkins' can speak on a variety of security topics facing our children & parents today, including:

• Social media
• Cyber bullying
• Sexting
• Safety online (Parents & Child)
• General home networking security
• Virtual Child (Parents)
• Internet Safety (Parents & Child)

We know that play is a crucial part of children’s early development. It helps children build connections, learn, and remember. Some of the key qualities we look for in play include are they: engaging, interactive, enriching, and fun! It encourages creativity and problem solving, and the highest levels of preschoolers’ play are imaginative and story-based. So let’s explore how we can ensure these qualities apply to play when it involves a screen:

1.Open-ended – Look for Apps that are open-ended and allow for tinkering and experimenting. Kids can develop critical thinking skills by making guesses, trying it out, and then trying again in a different way.

2.People and places – Look for Apps that have characters and common places. These features allow children to “play a story” by creating characters and talking about what they do and go through. This can also be an outlet for children to role-play something they’ve gone through themselves, like a trip to the dentist or winning a soccer game.

3.Play partner – Some developers have created Apps that act as a third party in the child’s play. For example a birthday party App includes the table set-up and party favors on the screen. To play, children simply place their tablet between them and pass out their virtual plates and cupcakes. Conversations and interactions can happen just as they would with real toys.

4.Cooperate and communicate – Choose Apps that are easy to interact with and talk about, rather than those that involve passively watching, clicking, or swiping. For example, Apps in which you build, decorate, or create are great for taking turns and talking about what you’re making. Other apps let you create videos or simple animations to show others.

5.Simply visual – By their nature, Apps are colorful and visual. But also consider choosing Apps for their simplicity. Visual distractors like ads, pop-up boxes for in-app purchases, and constantly changing screens can make it hard for the brain to get into a focused mode for learning.

Regardless of the Apps you choose, many times the most critical element of playing with technology is the other people we play with. Watch as your kids play, but take your turn too! Talk to them about what you notice, ask questions about how they made it work, or show them something they may not have thought of previously.

Mr. Rogers once said, “Play is really the work of childhood.” In order for children to continue the work of learning and growing they need to be able to play, even if a screen is included. The key is to join in and play with them!

• Read more on the AAP’s recommendations for screen time
• Find Apps reviewed by educators
• Browse the best free Apps for preschoolers

I love to watch them play and have fun, but I’m not watching them every single second. I’m usually reading something on my laptop and I glance up here and there to see what they’re up to. More often than not, they’re pausing to get the rules straight before they conquer that which would destroy us all. However, I have found myself jumping from my seat and running to the back patio door to tell them to stop! Why? Because I notice them doing something with their sticks that has a high potential to hurt one or both of them.

In and of itself a stick is not dangerous. A stick is a stick. You can poke in the mud with it, you can use it to imagine slaying dragons, or you could run with it out in front of you (the tip only inches above the ground, bobbing with every stride) and potentially impale yourself with said stick. Or, you could witness your 4-year-old swinging his stick wildly as the 8 year old, backing up to prevent being struck, stumbles over a toy wheelbarrow while the 4-year-old continues his assault. That’s what got my attention.

So, let’s talk about sticks … I mean apps. It’s the same conversation. Sticks come in all shapes and sizes. Some may be too big for my 4-year-old to handle; however, being a bit older, my 8-year-old may not have a problem with a slightly larger stick. Comparing this to apps on the tablets, my 4-year old does not understand some of the games my 8-year-old might play; but, he loves Reading Eggs®! But, since my 8-year-old is reading chapter books, Reading Eggs® (which helped him at one time) is now a “boring baby game.” For one, the stick is too small. For the other, the stick is just right.

As they grow older, they will want to delve into apps that challenge their maturity level and hold their attention. In the tween years, they will become more and more enthralled with social apps. On into the teen years, connecting with friends will more than likely become far more important than playing Cut the Rope® or Where’s My Water?®. It’s during these transitional periods that we’ll want to glance up from the kitchen table to take a quick peek into the virtual backyard. Knowing how to do this is half the battle.

Any app – even ones designed specifically for the facilitation of risky behavior – can be used in a way that is benign. All children are different and most are going to push the boundaries at some point or another. It’s our job as parents to guide them. In order to guide them, we need to be able to “glance up” to see what they are doing. Are they using social media apps? Are they playing games? What apps do they have loaded on the device? Are they chatting with strangers? What information are they giving out? I could keep adding questions. First, let’s talk about the most dangerous app of all.

Depending on their temperament, maturity level, risk taking, decision making skills, and overall attitude, the most dangerous app could be between your child’s ears. On the flip-side, it could also be the best security app available. Apps are not dangerous. Impaling yourself with apps is dangerous. Teaching your child good decision making skills and helping them to keep their compass as north as possible is the number one best way to prevent harm, period. In order to do that, you have to be able to “glance up” to ensure the compass needle is not falling.

There are two ways to secure a mobile device. One way is preventative security. Net Nanny® is a great app for enforcing parental controls for younger children. It prevents the errant Youtube video from introducing your child to inappropriate content as they follow the rabbit hole after searching for Spiderman. As they get older (and a bit wiser), preventative security measures lose their potency and can lead to a false sense of security for the parent. That’s why I recommend monitoring software.

There are several monitoring software packages available and, as with apps in the app stores, they are a moving target. iSpyoo® for iOS and Android (and other mobile phones) has received an “outstanding” editor’s rating on CNET.com. The review (which can be found on the CNET.com site and a search for iSpyoo) is for Android specifically; however, iSpyoo’s website boasts that “iSpyoo works on all mobile phones and networks from around the world.” Whichever monitoring software you choose, ensure it (1) cannot be detected by your child and (2) can send periodic alerts to your email address. A quick scan of the activity could either set your mind at ease or raise red flags. However, in order for this to work, you must maintain ownership of the device.

As a security professional with over 20 years of experience, I am 100 percent against giving smartphones, tablets, and other devices as gifts unless the rules are laid out appropriately. My rule is that, until you are on your own, you are borrowing MY device. I am the administrator and you are my child. That phone is on MY data plan and, while I did name it as your phone on the carrier’s website, I still pay the bills and I can cancel at any time. If you lay these rules out from the beginning, you could potentially run into far fewer problems down the road.

The bottom line is, yes, there are apps on the markets that give us concern. Some apps can be used for setting up a rendezvous with a stranger in a dark alley. If I were to tell you about specific apps today, I would miss the ones that will be coming out next week, month, or year. In all of my research and expertise, I still have not figured out how to definitively foretell the future. I can predict with a high degree of certainty, however, that there will be more apps coming. Keeping track of what your child does on their phones, tablets or computers will always be the best way to protect them. Just remember to bring your own stick to the game.

About the author

Jody S. Hawkins, Information Systems Security Officer, has been in technology for medical facilities since early 2000 and has been practicing for more than 20 years with his start in the United States Air Force. He is a part of Cook Children's Experts on Call Speakers Bureau. Hawkins specializes in privacy and technology safety and is a regular speaker at the National HIT/HIPAA Conference. He has been quoted and published in several national publications, including Health Information Management Magazine.

Hawkins' can speak on a variety of security topics facing our children & parents today, including:

• Social media
• Cyber bullying
• Sexting
• Safety online (Parents & Child)
• General home networking security
• Virtual Child (Parents)
• Internet Safety (Parents & Child)