Take Charge of your Child's Screen Time with iParent.TV

As a mother I am very cautious about what Noah is exposed to. I am always worried that he is going to see or hear something that will scare him.  He likes to watch shows that aren’t on Disney Jr. or Nick Jr. sometimes and I often wonder if what he is watching is good for him. He likes to watch the Science Channel.  We are a Christian family, so I try and make sure he doesn’t believe that we evolved from monkeys or that the Big Bang really happened. It is easy just to have him watch those shows with me or to kind of tell what it is about by reading the description.  Noah also likes to have time on my tablet.  He loves downloading new apps to play.  I have noticed before that some of the apps he downloads don’t have nudity or violence, but some of them have questionable ads on them. My son doesn’t need to be exposed to dating sites. He has downloaded apps that have some violence. Those apps were removed. He doesn’t understand the dangers of those games. I don’t have parental controls on it. It is connected to the internet and even my Facebook account.  I need to know which apps are ok and which ones are not.  Thankfully there is iParent.TV.  It will help give parents a piece of mind when it comes to apps, smart tv or social networks.

I have had the internet since I was 12. I am 32 now. I was exposed to some pretty unsettling things in my 20 years online.  When I was first online, there were only message boards. Chat rooms didn’t even exist yet. I remember being ten years old and a guy asking me what my bra size was. I was a naïve kid and I had no clue about bra sizes. Even then there were dangers. Chat rooms don’t really exist anymore, now there is Facebook. Those creeps out there are still targeting children. They aren’t doing it in public anymore. They are sending messages to children and trying to groom them. I was a 13 year old girl and I knew what it felt like to just want to fit in. Noah will not have any social media until he is 16. I know that sounds crazy but it’s not a risk I want to take. Even then I will have the password. Unless Noah gives me a reason not to trust him, I will. I just don’t trust the creatures in the computer. 

Here is more information from iParent.TV:

What is iParent.TV? If kids are awake, they are probably on a smartphone, in front of a smart TV, downloading apps, or posting to social networks. And most likely parents have no idea what they are doing. Founded by author, pastor and father Craig Gross, iParent.TV is a yearly, subscription-based website for teaching and informing parents on all things tech, mobile, devices, websites and apps for kids. The site is currently in development and expected to launch in July 2014.

The Problem is most parents don’t have an inside track to tech or social media dangers, let alone how to safeguard their kids against them.

58 percent of 10- to 12-year-old kids believe they know how to hide their online activities from their parents.

46 percent of kids said they would change their online behavior if they knew their parents were paying attention.

iParent.TV is designed to keep parents ahead of the tech curve. It will help parents understand, get involved and safeguard their children in the ever-evolving tech world. iParent.TV educates parents with all the latest trends via websites, social media, apps and devices.

 It started with a group of dads who felt like their 9 year olds knew more about tech than they did. They were right. But their idea will help change that forever for all parents. Once launched, iParent.TV will have hundreds of videos and product reviews that are current, cutting edge and trending, keeping parents who subscribe ahead of the tech curve.

How it will work? iParent.TV will be a subscription-based site costing $49 per year for parents to access videos, reviews, how-tos, and live chat support. It will be the largest website on the Internet helping parents understand what’s safe and what’s not in the world of tech. The founders of iParent.TV are currently raising funds through Indiegogo, offering interested individuals the opportunity to become early adopters with special subscription rates through mid-March. The website is scheduled to officially launch in July 2014.

I consider myself to be very tech savvy but I can always learn something new or be reminded of something I may have forgot. So even if you think you know everything, consider iParent.TV as an investment to your child’s safety.

You can save on your iParent.TV subscription by becoming an early bird subscriber. The early bird price is $29. 

Order your subscription early  iParent on Indiegogo 

For more information visit the iParent.TV website 

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State Farm Invites Individuals to Submit Causes to Assist their Neighborhood

State Farm Invites Individuals to Submit Causes to Assist Their Neighborhood Forty causes will each receive a $25,000 grant to help complete their project.

BLOOMINGTON, Ill., Feb. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Do you have an idea that would make your
community a better place to live, and would $25,000 be a game-changer? State Farm is here with the
assist. From March 3 through March 23, people from the United States and Canada can submit a cause for a chance to win one of 40 $25,000 State Farm Neighborhood Assist®grants.
 
Now in its third year, Neighborhood Assist is a youth-led philanthropic program that empowers people to identify the issues they feel are the most important in their communities. The program then connects them with a local nonprofit that can help solve the problem and provides an opportunity to receive one of 40 $25,000 grants. "People are looking for ways to help their communities," said Kellie Clapper, State Farm Assistant Vice President. "Neighborhood Assist empowers individuals to identify problems in their communities and provides funding to help create a positive impact."
 
Here's how it works. Beginning on March 3rd, people are invited to submit causes via the free State Farm Neighborhood Assist Facebook app. When a maximum of 4,000 cause submissions are received (deadline of March 23), the State Farm Youth Advisory Board will review all submissions and identify the top 200 based on a scoring rubric. The top 200 causes will then be announced on April 28 and anyone who has the free Facebook app can vote for their favorite causes with up to 10 votes per day until May 16. The top 40 vote-receiving causes will then each receive a $25,000 grant to help address the submitted cause. The top 40 vote-receiving causes will be announced via the Facebook app on May 27.
 
In 2013, over 3.4 million votes were cast as part of the grant selection process. Those winning grants
reached 40 different communities in 27 different US states/Canadian provinces. The 2013 causes were as diverse as developing workforce training and leadership opportunities for motivated, under-resourced teens to restoring a vacant theatre for use as a film and performing arts center. Winning causes came from large and small communities with the top 5 vote receiving causes coming from cities with populations less than 275,000.

This is a sponsored post. 

Rock Your Kissimmee, Florida Vacation Like a VIP

Rock Your Kissimmee, Florida Vacation Like a VIP
 
Ready to #RockYourVacation in Kissimmee? Enter the “Rock Your Vacation”
 
Instagram contest to win a VIP getaway for you and five of your closest friends. 

Kissimmee, Fla. (February 3, 2014) – Film it, Filter it, Rock it. A smart phone and a creative video is all you need to enter Experience Kissimmee’s “Rock Your Vacation” video contest on Instagram, launching today. Show how you and your “entourage” would Rock a Central Florida vacation and you could have the opportunity to enjoy adrenaline-pumping attractions and heart racing adventure, just moments from Orlando’s world-famous theme parks.
 
From now until March 16, entrants with an active and non-private Instagram account will be able to
create and post an original 15-second video. In order to qualify, entrants must follow
@ExperienceKissimmee and use the #RockYourVacation hashtag on Instagram. Once the submission
has been approved, Experience Kissimmee will post a comment on the Instagram video with a link. The user will go to that link to “verify” their entry and the video will appear in a video gallery on
www.RockYourVacation.com.

Submissions will be judged based on overall creativity and general knowledge of the destination. From among those, the top 8 videos will be narrowed down throughout a public voting period of 3 weeks using a bracket system.
 
The grand-prize winner and their entourage of five will receive a 6-day, 5-night VIP trip, during which  they will have the chance to experience the destination in a way they may have never done
before. Their getaway will include a stay at an amazing vacation home provided by All-Star Vacation
Homes, an SUV car rental for a week and a number of exclusive experiences.
 
Rock your heart rate by flying over hungry alligators on Gatorland’s Screamin’ Gator Zip line or during a rock concert at House of Blues. Meet your knight in shining armor at Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament or get carried away on a hot air balloon taking in the sunrise and sights of Kissimmee from the air. Glide across the headwaters of the Everglades on an airboat tour at Wild Florida Airboat Rides or get soaked at SeaWorld Orlando. All this and more can be done when vacationing in the popular Central Florida destination which hosts more than 6.5 million travelers annually. 

This is a sponsored post.