Tips for Keeping Kids Safe Online

Today is back to school day for many of us!  My kids are not yet teenagers but my almost 10 year old is constantly trying to negotiate time online while at home.   Back to school is always a good time to go over online safety with the kids, no matter the age and especially considering that 60% of teenagers, aged 13-17 years old have at least one online profile.  Receiving an email from Private Giant with some tips to help keep kids safe online has reminded me this would be a good time to talk to the kids about online safety.

Here are tips to share with you...

Social Media Security Tips for Parents

1. Don’t allow your children to include any Personally Identifiable Information (PII) in their account user names. Even something as simple as a first name and the city you reside in can be enough for a criminal to piece together a bigger picture of your life through your online presence. A photo of a school shirt, friend connections, a comment about weekend plans, can be collected in a process called Doxing and used to build an exact profile of a person. A stranger can easily gain intimate knowledge of your child’s entire life by trolling online profiles that are not properly safeguarded. Another level of protection can be added by having your child create unique user names for each account, never reusing the same log in information between sites.

2. Turn off any geo-tagging features. Allowing social media sites to have knowledge of your children’s location at any time of day can create a dangerous history that stalkers, cybercriminals and child predators can gain access to and exploit.

3. Monitor your children’s monthly download data usage. If you notice a spike in data usage, ask your children what they have been doing online and check for yourself to see what apps, videos or other files have been downloaded. A spike in data usage could indicate the presence of malware.

4. Create a guest account for your children on their computer instead of allowing them to use the computer as an administrator. Setting up the computer this way will give you more control over what your child can access and install.

5. Prepare ahead of time by joining social media. Before you allow your children to create a social media account, take the time to download the app or create an account of your own so you are familiar with how the program works.

6. Stay up to date on social media privacy settings. Privacy settings are constantly changing and if you are not checking them on a regular basis your children could be inadvertently sharing personal information with the world.

7. Check your child’s browser history weekly. If you come across a site that looks suspicious or you are not familiar with, check it out. Also keep a look out for any sites that seem like your child might have been shopping online.

8. Have open communication about the dangers of being online. Explain to your children how being online and freely sharing information or not having the proper safeguards in place could result in your family losing money, home, valuables and safety. Share real life examples with them to help them understand how vulnerable they truly are.

9. Schedule surprise check-ins.  Have your children log in to their accounts so you can browse them freely with them. Every few weeks, collect your children’s devices and have them show you their accounts. Make it an opportunity to get connected with their online social world, and to detect if any of their online actions are inappropriate or potentially dangerous.

10. Only allow your children to communicate with or “friend” people they have met in person. Set a house rule that your children are not allowed to communicate or connect with people online that they have not met face-to-face and enforce it by having them “friend” you on their social media accounts so you can check at will and stay connected to their feeds.

Three Minute Coleslaw Salad

When I find something that's healthy, easy to throw together and very tasty, I eat it every day.  This versatile three minute coleslaw salad is my current addiction.  I buy the pre-shredded cabbage, or coleslaw mix that you can find bagged in the pre packaged salad section of the grocery store, pour on my favorite low-cal poppy seed dressing and mix in some rice wine vinegar for some kick.  That is all!

I've been eating this salad every day for lunch for a week straight.  I can't buy enough packaged coleslaw. I'll even mix in sliced leftover chicken breast from the previous night's dinner just to mix it up a little.

I am obsessed.

And because I can't get enough of it at lunch, I throw this tangy slaw on top of my shredded beef tacos for dinner.  Oh MY!  Heaven.

The Powerhouse Kiwifruit

We're sliding in to my favorite time of year, Autumn.  The harvest of all sorts of favorites is beginning to happen, one being Kiwi fruit, which is available in stores from June through early autumn.  My kids love Kiwi, we just cut them in half and spoon out the vitamin packed, powerhouse fruit with a spoon.  Bryce can eat at least three in one sitting.  So when Zespri Kiwifruit sent me these delicious looking recipes, I wanted to share with you all.

All photos and recipes courtesy Zespri Kiwifruit

Black Rice Salad with Kiwifruit and Cashews

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons honey

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

2 1/2 cups cooked and cooled black or brown rice

2 Zespri® SunGold Kiwifruit, peeled and cut up

1 cup quartered strawberries

1/4 cup chopped red onion

2 teaspoons chopped fresh mint

1/3 cup salted cashew pieces

Directions:

In small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, honey, mustard, salt, pepper and garlic. In large bowl, stir dressing into rice. Stir in remaining ingredients except cashews. Cover and refrigerate up to 2 hours before serving to allow flavors to blend. Stir in cashews just before serving.

6 (3/4-cup) servings

*1 cup uncooked black rice yields 2 1/2 cups cooked rice.

Recipe tip: A serrated peeler works best for peeling kiwifruit.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Start to Finish: 15 minutes.

Baked Brie with Spicy Kiwifruit Compote

INGREDIENTS:

1 (13.2 oz) Brie cheese round

2 tablespoons red pepper jelly

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 Zespri® Organic Green Kiwifruit, peeled and diced

1 Zespri® SunGold Kiwifruit, peeled and diced

Assorted crackers

Directions:

Heat oven to 350°F. Unwrap Brie; trim and discard rind from top. Place cheese on ovenproof baking dish or pie plate. Bake 15 minutes or until softened and beginning to melt.

Meanwhile, in microwavable bowl, stir together jelly, mustard and pepper. Fold in diced kiwifruit. Microwave on high power 1 1/2 minutes, stirring halfway through heating, until hot.

Transfer cheese to serving plate, if desired. Top with kiwifruit mixture. Serve with crackers.

16 servings

Recipe tip: A serrated peeler works best for peeling kiwifruit.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Makes: 16 servings

Sungold Kiwifruit - Raspberry Cobbler

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup butter-canola oil blend

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon corn starch

4 Zespri® SunGold Kiwifruit, peeled and thickly sliced

1 cup fresh raspberries

1 cup whole wheat or all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups low-fat buttermilk

Directions:

Heat butter-canola spread in 9-inch oven-proof skillet or 8-inch square baking dish in oven until melted, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from oven; set aside.

Heat oven to 375°F. In medium bowl, stir together sugar and cornstarch. Gently stir kiwifruit and raspberries in to sugar mixture to coat.

In medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in buttermilk just until combined. Pour into pan over melted butter without stirring. Spoon kiwifruit mixture over batter.

Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until cobbler is golden brown and bubbly.

8 servings

Recipe tip: A serrated peeler works best for peeling kiwifruit.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Start to Finish: 1 hour

And lastly, I must include a cocktail recipe.  This one helps ring in the change of seasons with the spiced rum and brandy...

Southern Cross Golden Kiwifruit Cocktail

INGREDIENTS:

1 Zespri® SunGold Kiwifruit, peeled

1/2 ounce lime juice

1 tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 ounce dark or spiced rum

1/2 ounce brandy

1/4 ounce triple sec

Ice

Lime wedge

Directions:

Muddle kiwifruit, lime juice and sugar in cocktail shaker. Add rum, brandy, triple sec and ice. Shake 10 to 15 seconds or until very cold. Strain into old-fashioned glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with lime wedge.

1 serving

Recipe tip: A serrated peeler works best for peeling kiwifruit.

Prep time: 5 minutes

Start to Finish: 5 minutes