Apps to Help Kids Manage Their Emotions

By Tracey Dowdy

School is in full swing and families are back into their routines. Those first-days-of-school jitters have passed for most kids, but not everyone can transition from the unstructured days of summer so easily.

Fortunately, there are several apps that can be a helpful tool for children who struggle with self-control.

They encourage kids to think before they act or speak, learn to keep their emotions in check and concentrate on achieving their goals.

Daniel Tiger’s Grr-ific Feelings is based on the popular PBS TV show Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.  Aimed at preschoolers, children can play, sing-a-long, draw and take photos, all while learning about how to manage their feelings. (Ages 4+/iOS/$2.99)

Sesame Street has a well-earned reputation for understanding kids and knowing how to combine learning with fun. Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame equips kids with emotion regulating tools like breathing exercises, problem solving tips and personalized, encouraging phrases children hear as they help the monster think of a plan to calm him down. (Ages 2-5/iOS, Android/Amazon/Free)

Your kids will love dressing up, feeding, playing with and caring for a zany zebra, shy sheep, jolly giraffe and modest moose with the Avokiddo Emotions app. Each activity engages the character’s reactions and emotions through sounds and body language, teaching kids empathy by connecting the animals’ emotions to their causes. (Ages 4+/iOS, Android/ $2.99)

The Stop, Breathe & Think Kids app teaches children to stop, focus on their breathing, identify their feelings, and then choose an appropriate response. Developed by Susan Kaiser Greenland, it’s “designed to help kids discover the superpowers of quiet, focus and more peaceful sleep.” The app allows parents and students to track their progress by using graphs mapping trends in their emotional state. (Ages 4+/iOS, Android, web/Free, with in-app purchases)

Headspace started as a meditation app for adults, but they’ve created a version to help kids develop both focusing skills and self-awareness, while at the same time teaching them how to relieve their anxieties and reduce stress. (Various ages categories/iOS, Android, website/Free with in-app purchases)

Tracey Dowdy is a freelance writer based just outside Washington DC. After years working for non-profits and charities, she now freelances, edits and researches on subjects ranging from family and education to history and trends in technology. Follow Tracey on Twitter.

Monday, October 22: Getting Your Kids Into Music

Getting Your Kids Into Music

When: Monday, October 22, 2018
8:00 – 9:00 pm ET
5:00 – 6:00 pm PT
Join host Lindsay Frank (@SeeMomClick) and the #ParentsChooseYamaha team at 8 pm ET (5 pm PT) on Monday, October 22 as they offer tips on how parents can help their children choose the right instrument and develop a love for music!
RSVP and attend the chat for a chance to win a brand new iPad!
Click here to learn more about our Twitter chats. (You must RSVP and attend the party to be eligible for a prize.)
To RSVP:
  1. Email RSVP@theonlinemom.com (subject line: ParentsChooseYamaha) indicating your Twitter ID.
  2. Spread the word and RT this link on your Twitter feed: https://bit.ly/2yNQSpt
  3. Join us on TweetDeck or HootSuite (#ParentsChooseYamaha) on Monday, October 22 between 8:00 – 9:00 pm ET.
  4. Tell your Twitter followers!
PRIZE WINNERS will be announced during the Party!

Friday, October 19: Mobile Tools for Financial Fitness

Mobile Tools for Financial Fitness

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When: Friday, October 19, 2018
3:00 – 4:00 pm ET
12:00 – 1:00 pm PT
Join host Rick Griffin (@RickGriffin) and the #MobileLiving team at 3 pm ET (12 noon PT) on Friday, October 19 as we chat about Mobile Tools for Financial Fitness!
Getting our finances under control – and keeping them that way – is one of the keys to a less stressful life, but as most of us know, that’s easier said than done. Join us as we look at some of the mobile tools than can help us manage our family finances and get us on the road to financial fitness!
RSVP and attend the chat for a chance to win Samsung Level On PRO Wireless Headphones or a JBL Flip 4 Bluetooth Speaker!
Click here to learn more about our Twitter chats. (You must RSVP and attend the party to be eligible for a prize.)
To RSVP:
  1. Email RSVP@theonlinemom.com (subject line: MobileLiving) indicating your Twitter ID.
  2. Spread the word and RT this link on your Twitter feed: https://bit.ly/2EusJug
  3. Join us on TweetDeck or HootSuite (#MobileLiving) on Friday, October 19 between 3:00 – 4:00 pm ET.
  4. Tell your Twitter followers!
PRIZE WINNERS will be announced during the Party!

Google To Shutter Google+

By Tracey Dowdy

Google has just announced it will close down its Google+ social media network after a security breach that compromised the accounts of 500,000 people using the site between 2015 and March 2018.

Google’s vice president of engineering, Ben Smith, announced their decision in a blog post – “Project Strobe: Protecting your data, improving our third-party APIs, and sunsetting consumer Google+.” In the post, Smith confirmed that Google found the “bug” back in March and patched the loophole immediately. “We discovered and immediately patched this bug in March 2018. We believe it occurred after launch as a result of the API’s interaction with a subsequent Google+ code change,” he says. Smith also states that they found no evidence that information was “mishandled” by any of the hundreds of third-party developers that may have had access to the user data.

Google+ was launched in 2011 to challenge Facebook but failed to garner a following and is now seen as one of Google’s biggest failures.

Of concern to many is that Google failed to disclose the breach to regulators because of fears regarding potential repercussions and the impact it could have on the media giant’s reputation, this according to findings by the Wall Street Journal. Google’s legal and policy staff sent a memo to senior executives clearly warning that disclosing the breach would put them at risk of the same level of scrutiny experienced by Facebook after its Cambridge Analytica scandal.

The bug was discovered during an internal review Google called “Project Strobe,” an audit designed to evaluate third-party software developers access to user data. The app allowed apps access to user’s Google+ information that can be marked as private, including gender, age, email address, and even images and places the user has lived. Up to 438 third party apps had access to this information, though again, Google assures users there’s no evidence these developers were aware of the privacy loophole nor did they take advantage of it.

Google has reason to be concerned about the impact the breach has on its reputation. Last July, they faced backlash after reports surfaced stating that employees of third-party email apps could read users’ emails if those apps integrated with a Gmail account. Then in August, the AP exposed Google for tracking users’ locations even after they’d turned off their phone’s location history setting.

Users have until the end of August 2019 to transfer information and shut down their accounts.

Tracey Dowdy is a freelance writer based just outside Washington DC. After years working for non-profits and charities, she now freelances, edits and researches on subjects ranging from family and education to history and trends in technology. Follow Tracey on Twitter.

Take the ‘Bored and Brilliant Challenge’

By Tracey Dowdy

When was the last time you were bored?

Journalist and host of the “Note to Self” podcast, Manoush Zomorodi asks the following questions in her TED Talk: “What actually happens to us when we get bored? Or, more importantly: What happens to us if we never get bored? And what could happen if we got rid of this human emotion entirely?”

Prior to the birth of her son, Zomorodi had worked as a journalist, traveling extensively and reporting from war zones and disaster sites. Her son was a colicky baby who refused to sleep, and could only be soothed by riding in a moving stroller. Because it was the pre-smartphone era, Zomorodi had nothing to distract her on these endless walks, and initially found those first weeks mind-numbingly boring. But, by the third month of “pounding the pavement,” she experienced a shift, and suddenly her mind wandered as freely as her feet and she began to day dream and imagine like never before.

Fast-forward months later. Back to work with a smartphone in hand and her free time was now spent on Pinterest, Facebook and the like. Her creativity had taken a hit. “I started to think back: When was the last time I actually had a good idea? Yeah, it was when I was pushing that damn stroller. Now all the cracks in my day were filled with phone time.”

The realization inspired her to talk to neuroscientists and cognitive psychologists. They explained that when we get bored, our brains switch to “default mode.” Think of it like auto-pilot. It’s where you go when you do “mindless” tasks like weeding the garden or household chores.

Zomorodi says, “I learned that in the default mode is when we connect disparate ideas, we solve some of our most nagging problems and we do something called “autobiographical planning.”

Before smartphones and laptops, we’d spend our downtime setting long term goals, sifting through memories and problem solving. Now, we read email, tweet, scroll though Facebook and Instagram or play Sudoku on our phones. Our brains are constantly engaged and stimulated.

“A decade ago, we shifted our attention at work every three minutes. Now we do it every 45 seconds and we do it all day long. The average person checks email 74 times a day and switches tasks on their computer 566 times a day,” says Zomorodi.

Former Google designer Tristan Harris explained why so many of us are addicted to our devices. “If I’m Facebook or I’m Netflix or I’m Snapchat, I have literally a thousand engineers whose job is to get more attention from you. I’m very good at this and I don’t want you to ever stop. And you know, the CEO of Netflix recently said, ‘Our biggest competitors are Facebook, YouTube and sleep.’”

To put it more bluntly, as Zamorodi says, “As one UX designer told me, the only people who refer to their customers as “users” are drug dealers and technologists.”

Former Facebook product manager and author Antonio García Martínez says, “The saying is, if any product is free then you’re the product; your attention is the product. But what is your attention worth?”

As an experiment, Zomorodi challenged her listeners to break the cycle and take back the attention that we’d surrendered to our devices. She called the challenge “Bored and Brilliant” and utilized specific apps to measure how much time users spent on their phones. Part of the challenge included deleting the one app that was the biggest time-waster, e.g. Twitter, Facebook, or even Candy Crush.

At the beginning of the experiment, users spent an average of 120 minutes on their phones. After? An average of 114. Six minutes may not seem like much, but the impact wasn’t so much measured in time but in the stories themselves. Participants stated they no longer felt like their phone was an extension of themselves but a tool they had control over.

Zamorodi concludes with, “So the next time you go to check your phone, remember that if you don’t decide how you’re going to use the technology, the platforms will decide for you…It might feel weird and uncomfortable at first but boredom truly can lead to brilliance.”

Tracey Dowdy is a freelance writer based just outside Washington DC. After years working for non-profits and charities, she now freelances, edits and researches on subjects ranging from family and education to history and trends in technology. Follow Tracey on Twitter.

Friday, October 12: Mobile Tech Tips for Travelers

Mobile Tech Tips for Travelers

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When: Friday, October 12, 2018
3:00 – 4:00 pm ET
12:00 – 1:00 pm PT
Join host Rick Griffin (@RickGriffin) and the #MobileLiving team at 3 pm ET (12 noon PT) on Friday, October 12 as we chat about Mobile Tech Tips for Travelers!
Whether you’re checking flight times, looking for a restaurant or just taking a few selfies, your smartphone has become an essential travel companion. Join us as we look at the ways mobile devices can help with your travel planning and add to the fun while you’re on the road!
RSVP and attend the chat for a chance to win a Google Home Mini assistant or a UE Boom 2 Bluetooth speaker!
Click here to learn more about our Twitter chats. (You must RSVP and attend the party to be eligible for a prize.)
To RSVP:
  1. Email RSVP@theonlinemom.com (subject line: MobileLiving) indicating your Twitter ID.
  2. Spread the word and RT this link on your Twitter feed: https://bit.ly/2RBnKuq
  3. Join us on TweetDeck or HootSuite (#MobileLiving) on Friday, October 12 between 3:00 – 4:00 pm ET.
  4. Tell your Twitter followers!
PRIZE WINNERS will be announced during the Party!

Friday, October 5: The Connected Life

The Connected Life

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When: Friday, October 5, 2018
3:00 – 4:00 pm ET
12:00 – 1:00 pm PT
Join host Danyelle Little (@TheCubicleChick) and the #MobileLiving team at 3 pm ET (12 noon PT) on Friday, October 5 as we chat about The Connected Life!
Faster networks, smarter apps and an array of innovative devices are finally delivering on the promise of a truly connected lifestyle. Join Danyelle and the team as we take a look at some of the exciting possibilities for home, work and play!
RSVP and attend the chat for a chance to win a JBL Flip 4 Bluetooth speaker or a Google Home Mini assistant!
Click here to learn more about our Twitter chats. (You must RSVP and attend the party to be eligible for a prize.)
To RSVP:
  1. Email RSVP@theonlinemom.com (subject line: MobileLiving) indicating your Twitter ID.
  2. Spread the word and RT this link on your Twitter feed: https://bit.ly/2CrYouG
  3. Join us on TweetDeck or HootSuite (#MobileLiving) on Friday, October 5 between 3:00 – 4:00 pm ET.
  4. Tell your Twitter followers!
PRIZE WINNERS will be announced during the Party!

Websites to Help Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month

By Tracey Dowdy

From September 15 – the anniversary of independence for several Latin American countries – to October 15, America will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. Established by the government in 1968, Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the accomplishments of Latino citizens of the U.S. or those with ancestors in Spain, México, and Central or South America. With over 58 million Hispanic individuals living in the United States, they are a significant cultural presence.

Many schools, libraries and communities will celebrate the contributions of our Latino neighbors and, if you’d like to participate, these websites, apps and resources can help.

The National Hispanic Heritage Month website provides access to documents, exhibits, films, blog posts and other resources that highlight Hispanic culture from both the National Archives and Presidential Libraries.

The Smithsonian Institution Hispanic Resources site lets you explore the vast resources and archives of the Smithsonian, including Learning Lab Collections on Hispanic heritage and culture. Search the archives for interviews with Hispanic immigrants, listen to Latin American music, or browse the collection of stamps commemorating seminal moments in Hispanic history. You can read thought-provoking articles like “Why the Universe Needs More Black and Latino Astronomers,” or learn about Hispanic foods like the tomatillo, a favorite in Mexican and Guatemalan cooking.

The National Endowment for the Humanities site has lots of great resources including The Roots of Hispanic Culture in the New World, Hispanic Culture and Literature today, and access to websites that explore the cultural legacy of Mexico, Central America and parts of the Caribbean, as well as other Latin American nations.

The Library of Congress website has Primary Source Sets that dig into “Hispanic Exploration in America” and “Mexican American Migration and Communities.”

In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, EBSCO librarian Kendal Spires created a list of novels from the Graphic Novels Core Collection featuring stories about The Day of the Dead or highlighting Hispanic icons like Puerto Rican baseball player Roberto Clemente.

EBSCO Flipster lets you explore online magazines, and they have an extensive collection of Spanish language editions of popular magazines like Newsweek, People, Babybug, and Rolling Stone en Español as well as Hispanic magazines such as Semana, Mercados & Tendencias, Ciencia Hoy de los Chicos, and Ambientes.

Tracey Dowdy is a freelance writer based just outside Washington DC. After years working for non-profits and charities, she now freelances, edits and researches on subjects ranging from family and education to history and trends in technology. Follow Tracey on Twitter.