Hello,

Imagine, your child comes home visibly upset and tells you that someone is tweeting bad things about her. When you look at Twitter you cannot see any reference being made to your child so you question the validity of her concern. The truth is your child may be experiencing a very real phenomenon called ”subtweeting.”

Subtweeting is when someone tweets something negative or insulting without mentioning the person they are tweeting about. This happens a lot between teens and tweens, and can be the cause of anxiety and devastation for many of these kids. It is the 2014 equivalent of talking behind someone’s back but within earshot.  

What this means for you as a parent or adult who works with kids is that the angst that kids are feeling from these social media sites is often very real and very powerful.

Today’s blog will give you some tools to have conversations with kids about social media and how these trends may or may not be affecting them. I thought this was especially important now as more kids now have smartphones and with so many schools moving to iPads and technology, managing your child’s online world is getting increasingly difficult for parents. 

Warmly,

Why Parents Can't Be Dumb About Social Media

Today many in the Tampa Bay area will be remembering Rebecca Sedwick through vigils, classroom and home discussions, and of course, news reports on teens and bullying. One year ago today, Rebecca committed suicide after reportedly being bullied both on and offline for more than a year.

These stories seem to be far too common these days and I am often asked how parents can help prevent bullying, especially online.

Walking the fine line of respecting your child’s online privacy while looking out for their well-being is a challenge that our parents didn’t exactly have.

I always use the analogy that letting your child “play” unsupervised online is ...

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We want to welcome Dr. Elaine Spencer to the Rice Psychology team!

Dr. Spencer is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in the treatment of children, adolescents and their families. Her clinical experience includes treating depression and anxiety, childhood trauma, behavioral problems, as well as family and school-related issues. She has had the opportunity to work with children in a variety of contexts, including outpatient care, residential treatment and school settings. Dr. Spencer also has experience conducting child and adolescent psychological evaluations.

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