And why we like to make sure you know about other products that we believe can also help keep your kids safe, like Safeguard Connect, featuring My Child Safeguard. This unique service uses your cell phone to safeguard your kids, their identity and property by allowing you to be contacted directly without revealing any personal information or your phone numbers.

How does it work? Think of My Child Safeguard as your kid’s new ID tag – but better. Your child’s personal information (name, address and phone number) is replaced by a toll-free 800 number and a unique member ID# for emergency situations. Wristbands with the ID# can also be worn in case of separation. To directly reach a parent or guardian, a caller dials the toll-free number and references the ID#. The call is immediately transferred to both parents’ cell phones (up to 4 phones) for the safety, health and welfare of your children. Safe and secure – just like kajeet.

And, for a limited time, kajeet customers can save 20% on a Safeguard Connect membership by entering KAJEET at checkout. Click here to learn more about the service and to get started today.

kajeet – the cell phone service made for kids

Because there are plenty of ways you can proactively make this easier for your kid – and for yourself! Parenting expert Shannon Eis recently shared tips on ways to make the transition from summer to fall on CBS’s The Early Show. And one of her recommendations for staying safe and in touch was a cell phone from kajeet. You can read more about why she picked kajeet here.

Does your back to school supply list include a cell phone? Let us know!

kajeet – the cell phone service made for kids

If not, now’s your chance. Join the thousands of others who have already agreed to put their phones down and their heads up when behind the wheel in honor of National “No Phone Zone” Day, Friday, April 30. Led by Oprah Winfrey and transportation safety organizations from around the country, today is the day you pledge to keep yourself, your family and others safe on the road by making your car a “no phone zone,” free of the distractions often caused by an incoming call or text.

At kajeet, we acknowledge – and encourage – safe, responsible cell phone use every day. It’s the reason why we give every kajeet customer free, unlimited parental controls that can be customized to suit your family’s needs. Want to manage your kid’s phone so that calls can’t be made or text messages sent during school hours? Use TimeManager to make the phone off-limits for the time block you choose. Prefer that only specific phone numbers can call (or be called from) your kid’s phone? Use ContactManager to designate which ones these are and block all others. Want to know that your kid arrived at his or her destination as scheduled? Use GPS Phone Locator to confirm. These tools are just a few of the many that have helped establish kajeet as the safest cell phone service for kids. (Want another? Download our free parent-kid cell phone use contract here).

Did you take the pledge? What cell phone rules have you put in place for when your kid is driving?

kajeet – the cell phone service made for kids

The Kaiser Family Foundation recently released a study that reviewed kid’s media use – excluding cell phone texting and talking – and found that kids 8-18 are using media an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes a day.  The study found that texting adds another 1 hour and 35 minutes per day.  The study also found that high media use is correlated with lower personal satisfaction and lower grades. Parents are rightly concerned.

A major challenge in the world of cell phones has been bearing down on us for several years. And now it’s here. Extremely powerful mobile devices – small computers, really – are now in the hands of our children for large parts of the day, creating all kinds of questions, problems and conflicts. With two ‘mobile kids’ of my own, I live with the challenge of making sure my children make the best possible use of their powerful mobile devices – and avoid the pitfalls.

As a parent, I do not believe that ‘every child has to have a cell phone.’ Though I know that virtually every child wants one, the decision is a child’s parents to make. Still, the Kaiser Family Foundation study finds that 66% of 8 – 18 year olds now have cell phones. And the number is steadily growing. It’s our view that, within 5 years, nearly every child above the age of 10 (and probably younger), will carry around what we’d today call a Smartphone.

Parents are getting their children cell phones for safety, to improve family logistics, to help their kids connect with friends, and to keep the family in closer touch. (My kids and I love texting each other when I’m traveling for work.) All good reasons. And soon, cell phones will be integrated into more school activities and processes.

Yet, despite the benefits, parents want to find ways to make sure cell phone use doesn’t distract their kids from school, homework, and sleep. And they want to shield their children from dangers such as sexting; texting while driving; being harassed, tracked or worse by strangers; and bullying, much of which is now conducted online or via cell phone. (I was just at my daughter’s middle school orientation last week, and this was the most talked-about topic.)

At kajeet, seeing that cell phones were in the cards for most kids, we set out to be part of the solution. From our earliest beginnings, we’ve thought about our service as a kind of “kitchen table,” a place where parents and their children can negotiate the right boundaries and limits, which, as we know, change with time and circumstances. By building kajeet with a powerful suite of monitoring, alert, control and budgeting features, we’ve put the power of managing the challenges, risks and potential dangers directly in the hands of families.

Now, without even signing up to a contract (parents insisted on that point), families can manage their kids’ service via the easy-to-use kajeet parental controls. Just by logging in to our Web site, parents can ensure that the talk they had with their child is put into practice: who they can text and call, when, what features of their phone they can use, who pays for what. Plus, parents can monitor the phone’s activity, track their child’s phone, and even get alerts telling them where the phone is at set times. (For example, I get e-mail alerts each morning that tell me whether my kids have arrived at school, and, in the afternoon, telling me whether or not they’ve made it home. That works for me.)

But the actual conversation between parent and child is really the most important thing. Our technology supports and implements what comes from that conversation. So, we asked ourselves how we might contribute more to those conversations, beyond simply providing affordable and easy-to-use technology to manage and monitor your child’s cell phone.

After talking with many kajeet families, we have come up with a set of guidelines that families can review before giving their child a cell phone in order to avoid the common pitfalls many families encounter:

1. Establish a contract covering the rules of use before giving your child his or her first cell phone. Cover “who, where, and how much” cell phone use is appropriate.    (Here’s a sample contract you can tailor to meet your own family’s needs.)
2. Agree to put the cell phone in a central recharging area at night, in a powered down condition. (And, to be green, unplug the charger when it’s not in use.
3. Discuss and reach agreement on appropriate cell phone etiquette (including use of phones during meals, at restaurants, and in public areas)
4. Discuss the appropriate use of picture messaging and the hazards of inappropriate use. (Yes, we’re talking about sexting here.)
5. Get an iron-clad commitment that the phone will not be used when driving. Discuss what your child should do if in a car with a driver who is texting.
6. Review the rules of cell phones at school, and reach agreement that all school rules regarding cell phone use will be followed.
7. Establish a budget and identify who will pay for use of the cell phone.
8. Review the consequences if the agreed-upon rules of use are broken.

Many kajeet parents find it useful to periodically review the detailed account activity with their child to make sure that the phone is being used appropriately.

This may seem like good ol’ common sense. Good. But we parents are busy people, and it’s important to find the small amount of time it takes to set the ground rules for kids’ use of cell phones. That’s just as important as experiencing the excitement of giving the phone as a gift, or sending your child off to school or camp.

At kajeet, we’ve committed ourselves to helping families have better conversations, better tools to control that small computer their kids are toting, and a simple dashboard that allows for effective monitoring of their child’s communications.

But regardless of who you’ve chosen to be your child’s cell phone provider, outlining the rules and establishing a contract for use of this mobile computer can help families ensure the phone is a tool that keeps their child safe and teaches them responsibility.

kajeet – the cell phone service made for kids

YouTube has introduced a Safety Mode that filters “objectionable content” prior to display on your browser.  This setting will ensure that content that does not meet YouTube Community Guidelines (e.g., content that includes nudity, graphic violence, animal abuse, narcotics), and comments that include such content, are blocked.

You can turn Safety Mode ON by scrolling to the bottom of the YouTube page and clicking on the Safety Mode link.  This will bring up a menu that allows you to turn Safety Mode On or Off.   If you are logged into Google or YouTube you will also see an option in that same spot on the page that allows you to lock this setting in place for the browser you are using.  See the YouTube Safety Mode video for more information on how to configure this setting.

Safety Mode is similar to the Safe Search mode you might be familiar with using on the Google Web and Image Search pages.    Note that you must set this up for each browser – so if you use Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, etc. on the same machine – you must set this up separately for each instance of each browser in order for it to be effective.

There are ways around this:  the configuration is cookie based, your child can download a new browser (these are free and it is easy to do), etc.  While not perfect, it is a giant step in the right direction and an important setting for parents with kids that love YouTube.

Have you tried Safety Mode?  How is it working for you?  Comment here and let us know.

kajeet – the cell phone service made for kids

by Daniel Neal

Three and a half years ago my wife, Heller An, and I met our now 14-year-old son, Alex, through an amazing organization: Kidsave International. Kidsave’s motto is “Because every child needs a family.” Simply put, that is why kidsave exists. It helps kids without families find them.

In their own words:

“Kidsave gives kids who are hidden from public view in foster care and orphanages the opportunity to visit with families and build relationships. We work as a catalyst for change, training social workers, orphanage workers and volunteers to help kids find permanent families, and change practices, laws and public financing to increase permanent family care for orphans and youth in foster care.”

Since 1999, more than 2700 individual children have found parents and lasting connections with adults because of Kidsave programs. Thousands more orphans and children in foster care around the globe have parents and lasting connections because of Kidsave’s training and advocacy efforts.

One of Kidsave’s most successful programs is its Summer Miracle Program.

Our family participated in this program in 2006. Yes, you probably guessed: our beloved son Alex was the child we hosted that magical summer.

Kidsave is now seeking Host Families for its 2010 Summer Miracles Program. If you know someone who may wish to learn about this program, you can find out more here .

If you want information about the Kidsave organization and its other programs, you can learn more here .

kajeet – the cell phone service made for kids

Wow.  Even those of us focused on kids and media were surprised with the recent Kaiser Family Foundation Study on kids and media use.  The study, called “Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds“, indicates that kids spend more than 53 hours a week consuming media (counting a blend of TV, computers, gaming devices, cell phones, etc.).  And that count does not include multitasking – which brings the media use count up to 10 hours and 45 minutes per day.

Much of the increase is driven by the accessibility of media on mobile devices – ipods and cell phones (though the increase in social media use is also a factor).  Note that text messaging is not considered media use in this study – and that “7th-12th graders report spending an average of 1:35 a day sending or receiving texts”!

Clearly, media consumption is a fact of life.  So what’s wrong with this picture?

1.  Kids that are heavy media users report getting lower grades.

2.  Kids that are heavy media users report being less personally content.

What’s the upside here?  One bit of upside is that parents can have an impact!  The study indicates that “When parents set limits, children spend less time with media. Those young people who say their parents have some rules about their media use are exposed to an average of nearly three hours (2:52) less media content per day than those who say they don’t have rules.”

Most parents get cell phones for their kids for safety reasons.  But doing so can put more media – and another device with which to multi-task – in the hands of kids.  kajeet customers can set limits – on both the type of content/service used on the cell phone and the time spent using the cell phone.  This includes limiting access at night, during school, and during home work time.  To set these up simply login at kajeet.com or call kajeet customer care (1-866-452-5338).

Please comment here to let us know what you think of the Kaiser Family Foundation study and how you manage media access and use in your household.  We could all benefit from some good ideas!

kajeet – the cell phone service made for kids

The second known suicide resulting from Sexting  - sending explicit pictures via a cell phone – happened this week in Florida.  Many kids have been harmed by Sexting – something they originally thought was either funny or something that might make them more attractive turns into incessant bullying at school, reprimands by school officials, and even potentially legal trouble.

The number one reason for purchasing a first time cell phone is safety.  Most parents purchase the phone as a way to ensure their child can get in touch with them in the event of an emergency, to coordinate timely and safe pick ups after events, and simply to ensure they can reach their child as they venture out more independently.  However, cell phones are also tools for instant communications – tools that require careful education and that support communications methods for which not every kid is ready.

The smoothest cell phone experiences happen when parents and kids discuss the rules and responsibilities before that first cell phone gets used. Here are some tips that might help:

1.  Establish a contract with your child before they use their phone.  Work with your child to mutually establish guidelines for appropriate and safe use.

2.  Decide proactively which services are allowed.  It is possible, for example, to initially restrict or shut off picture messaging and let your child learn the power of instant communications first through text messaging.  It might be helpful to review some of the news on Sexting to discuss why this might have happened and what could have been done differently.

3.  Get agreement on the when the phone should be used.  Decide whether it should be physically shut off during school and at night or whether a TimeManager block should be set up during these hours to prevent distractions.  Should the phone be on or off during homework hours?

4.  Decide what kind of periodic usage reviews should be held.  Should you review and discuss usage once per week?  Once per month?  Will you and your child review the actual messages and pictures on the phone from time to time?

5.  Finally, review how much the service costs, mutually agree on a budget for the phone, and decide who pays for what.

Putting a cell phone in a kid’s hand is the equivalent of giving them a small computer attached to a network!  Safety tools are available – and one of the best tools might be talking with our kids to ensure they think through the possible impact of their decisions – especially when instant communications are involved.

How do you manage cell phone use in your home?  Please comment here with your tips on safe cell phone use.

Sleep

by Carol Politi

Another series of articles have come out describing all the distractions today’s kids have to deal with not only throughout their day, but also throughout their night.   A recent article “Night-texting’ taking its toll on N.J. teens” highlights kids that are texting even while they are sleeping.

Research has shown that the lack of sleep impacts not only kid’s school work but also their emotional and physical health.  kidshealth.org has a good summary of teen sleep needs.

Kids are going to wake up if they get notified of a text message on their phone.  Some parents have a rule that all phones must be powered down and put in a designated spot before the kids retire for the evening.  That can work!  Another option for kajeet parents is to establish a TimeManager policy that prevents the phone from sending or receiving texts during certain hours.  Many kajeet parents put on a block during the nights and during school hours.  (Emergency numbers that the parent designates can get through.)

I think we would all love it if our kids would just learn to apply reasonable limits – this is an important part of growing up.  However, with texting, we have to be worried not only about our own kid’s behavior, but also that of their friends in homes with different policies and limits.  Sometimes it makes sense to give them a little help!  Please login to kajeet.com or call kajeet customer care at 1-866-452-5338 to configure TimeManager on your kajeet device.

Originally developed by first responders in the UK, In Case of Emergency – ICE – is a system whereby people program their cell phones with “In Case of Emergency” contact information that first responders (and others) can use.   A great article on this was published recently in the Cookeville Times – “Cell Phones Keep Kids Safe“.

Back to school is a great time to program your child’s phone with ICE contacts.  In the “name” field on the contact list in the phone, enter ICE plus the name of the person (ICE Mom, ICE Dad, ICE Grandma, etc.).  Come to think of it – perhaps we should all program our phones with ICE contacts!