According the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, distracted driving accidents killed over 3,100 people in 2020 and injured almost 325,000 more. Teen drivers (15-19 years old) accounted for 8% of those deaths, though only 5.1% of all drivers are teens. April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, a nationwide effort to raise awareness about the dangers … Continue reading April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month
Social Media and Teen Brains
Last week, Mitch Prinstein, the chief science officer at the American Psychological Association (APA), testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the role that social media plays in children’s mental health. His 22-page testimony is incredibly informative, and National Public Radio (NPR) has ten key points that families should know. Read the full article for … Continue reading Social Media and Teen Brains
Resources for Suicide Prevention Awareness Month
September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and Illinois PTA has highlighted Safe2Help Illinois when it was first announced in 2020 and covered the new 988 Suicide Prevention Lifeline (an alternative to the 800 number) in our Weekend Update newsletter. As part of its efforts for Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, the Child Mind Institute is sharing … Continue reading Resources for Suicide Prevention Awareness Month
Mobilize Your PTA Against Gun Violence
It is in the headlines every day. It can’t be avoided at the grocery store, at church, at school, or anywhere in our communities. It is gun violence, and as National PTA President Anna King notes in the headline of her One Voice blog post, we are well beyond enough is enough. Your PTA can … Continue reading Mobilize Your PTA Against Gun Violence
Bullying Prevention Resources for Your PTA
The recent suicide of a 10-year-old autistic black student in Utah, along with reports that school officials did not act when alerted to the repeated bullying the child endured, has brought bullying back into the spotlight. If your PTA is interested in hosting a bullying prevention event or looking for materials to share with families, … Continue reading Bullying Prevention Resources for Your PTA
Safe Summer–Preventing Childhood Drowning
Today’s guest post is from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). As summer begins, DCFS is releasing a new public service announcement regarding childhood drowning prevention. Memorial Day marks the unofficial beginning of summer, and as the country begins to reopen following the COVID-19 pandemic, families will once again be heading to … Continue reading Safe Summer–Preventing Childhood Drowning
What Parents and Educators Can Do To Combat Hate Speech
Hate speech is more than harsh words. It is any form of expression meant to vilify, humiliate, or incite hatred against a group or class of people. It can be communicated by words, symbols, images, memes, emojis, or videos. Connect Safely has created a guide for parents and educators on how they can help children … Continue reading What Parents and Educators Can Do To Combat Hate Speech
Keeping Your Kids Safe Online—The Smart Talk and Parental Controls
Several years ago, Illinois PTA shared information on The Smart Talk, a National PTA program steps you through a conversation with your child about online limits and produces a “contract” based on your discussion. Now, with kids online even more in the pandemic for school, socializing, and fun, it might be time to revisit The … Continue reading Keeping Your Kids Safe Online—The Smart Talk and Parental Controls
Safe2Help Illinois Aims to Reduce Suicide, Bullying, and School Violence
Teen suicide, bullying, school violence, and other threats to school safety are a far too common part of today’s schools. Illinois has now launched a new school safety program called Safe2Help Illinois to address those issues. The program is aimed at getting students to seek help before harm. Central to the program is a free app, website, … Continue reading Safe2Help Illinois Aims to Reduce Suicide, Bullying, and School Violence
Get Digital—Facebook’s New Resources for Youth, Families, and Educators
Our children were already spending a lot of time online, and with online learning and shelter-at-home requirements, are probably spending a lot more now. Facebook has created a new collection of resources to support families, youth, and educators as they help children navigate online. The aim of Get Digital is to start conversations with children … Continue reading Get Digital—Facebook’s New Resources for Youth, Families, and Educators
Parents’ Guides to TikTok
As a parent, it often seems like your kid’s on a new social media app every other week. One of the apps that has popped up on every teen’s phone lately is TikTok. Two resources can help you understand this new social media platform. National PTA has partnered with TikTok itself to create TikTok Tips … Continue reading Parents’ Guides to TikTok
Free Kit Helps Families Address Screens in the Classroom
As a parent, you probably keep an eye on how much screen time your child is getting at home and what they are doing on those screens. But what about the screens your child sees in school? Are what’s on those screens really helping your child learn? What about the data collected by such technology? … Continue reading Free Kit Helps Families Address Screens in the Classroom
Human Trafficking: A Primer for PTAs
January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. While you may not think that human trafficking is an issue in your community—a 2017 poll in Illinois indicated more than half disagreed that it was happening in their area—in fact, Illinois ranks 11th in the nation in the number of cases of human trafficking. What … Continue reading Human Trafficking: A Primer for PTAs
Host a Safer Internet Day Event on February 11th
Safer Internet Day is an internationally-celebrated education and awareness event occurring on February 11, 2020. National PTA has partnered with Connect Safely and TikTok to create a ready-to-use Safer Internet Day toolkit. National PTA also has their Smart Talk event planning toolkit as well that you can use for a second or alternative event. The … Continue reading Host a Safer Internet Day Event on February 11th
Illinois PTA Supports Governor’s End to Seclusion
Illinois PTA strongly supports Governor JB Pritzker’s decision to end seclusion of students by schools. The move comes following a ProPublica Illinois investigation in conjunction with the Chicago Tribune into the use of restraint and seclusion in Illinois public schools. The investigation documented more than 20,000 incidents from the 2017-2018 school year and through early … Continue reading Illinois PTA Supports Governor’s End to Seclusion
US Secret Service Report on School Shootings
Columbine High School. Sandy Hook Elementary. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The names are etched in our memories for reasons that no school wants to be remembered. Even as this post was being written, news broke of another school shooting in Santa Clarita, California. A new report by the US Secret Service has studied these … Continue reading US Secret Service Report on School Shootings
CDC Offers Free Online Concussion Course
Concussions are a serious concern for children’s growing brains, and the risk is not just from playing football or soccer. Illinois PTA has published information on what parents need to know about concussions in the past. A new free online course from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is designed to help parents, … Continue reading CDC Offers Free Online Concussion Course
Teaching Your Kids Safe Online
Our children are often referred to as digital natives—people growing up immersed in a digital world. And while they may be comfortable with technology and online activities, they are not born knowing how to be safe in that digital world. Just like our parents taught us how to be safe running around unsupervised in our … Continue reading Teaching Your Kids Safe Online
Preparing for and Surviving a Tornado
This spring has seen a significant number of tornadoes across Illinois and the country. Today’s guest post comes from Ready.gov on how to prepare for, survive, and recover from a tornado. Tornadoes can destroy buildings, flip cars, and create deadly flying debris. Tornadoes are violently rotating columns of air that extend from a thunderstorm to … Continue reading Preparing for and Surviving a Tornado
12 Bullying Myths
Bullying at school is nothing new, but a lot of what we think we know about isn’t necessarily true. Great Schools has put together a list of 12 myths about bullying along with the facts that bust those myths. Those myths are: You’ll know when your child is being bullied. Bullying is always physical. The … Continue reading 12 Bullying Myths
One Voice Illinois 