The ‘category killer’ Toys’R’Us has announced bankruptcy (Sep 19, 2017). The Wall Street Journal article states the “The toy industry is in tumult” and cites examples of Lego, Mattel and Hasbro.
Recently, Nolan Bushnell, the founder of Atari talked about why he started Chuck-e-cheese in an NPR show, How I Built This. To summarize his thoughts as we understand: it was about creating a complete experience zone.
Atari was selling games to arcades (one-time revenue event for Atari) who were using them for years and charging per use (recurring revenues for Arcades). So, it was obvious that real money is in engaged users. So, at Chuck-e-cheese, kids could play in the arcade, have food and hang out longer and thus engage more in more than one way.
This is exactly what Toys’R’Us, Lego, Mattel and Hasbro did not do well. They did not engage their users in all ways possible. They stuck to what worked 20 years ago and kept making it better.
We have, in our small ways, tried to reach out to executives of these companies and find ways to partner with them (remember: we too want to engage users in all possible ways). But lack of a cohesive and direct digital strategy was missing. Or, what was missing a clear communicable version. Maybe it was us, but the results & news hint above speculation may not be a weak one.
Toys’R’Us may be getting some of the future actions right. As the WSJ article mentions, “Its remaining locations would be reconfigured to be more experienced-based, incorporating amenities such as in-store play areas, they added”.
Our suggestion would be to engage with the digital ecosystem more deeply. Startups may be able to help innovate faster. They too need these established giants.
In our industry (products for kids), brick-n-motor and digital cannot build a real business on our own. The engagement has to be omnichannel. Something that Disney seems to be getting right.
So, if anyone is listening, hope you engage with us! 
Cover picture curtsey Mike Mozart/Creative Commons
While Halloween is an exciting time for kids, for parents it is usually very hectic and stressful. Along with organizing costumes, parents also have to worry about their kid’s safety while they go out and enjoy themselves.
Here are some tips for parents so that they can make sure their kids have a safe Halloween:
- Kids should visit only well-lit homes. Homes that are well-lit on Halloween night usually welcome trick-or-treaters. If the porch lights are off, or if kids feel uncomfortable, they should simply move on to a different home.
- NEVER ACCEPT RIDES FROM STRANGERS. NEVER.
- Kids should never split up from their group.
- Ingredients like peanuts and milk can be disastrous for kids with allergies. Make sure allergic kids are careful to ask about these ingredients before accepting treats.
- Make sure kids have emergency contact information on them. You can either write down the info on a card and stick it in their bag or write the info on your kid’s wrist using a marker. Since markers can wash off, the card would be better.
- If you’re allowing your kid to trick-or-treat alone, make sure you map out their route. Outline the neighborhoods they’ll start with, where they’ll go and which neighborhoods to avoid.
- Make sure your kids follow road safety rules and are extra careful on Halloween night, when kids are four times more likely to be run over by a car. Try to incorporate some reflective tape into their costume or just stick some on it or on your kid’s bag anyway. Kids should be smart and careful while crossing roads.
- When choosing or making your kid’s costume, make sure it’s not too long (to prevent your kid tripping over it) and, if there’s a mask, that your kid can see out of it and breathe in it.
- Have some way you can contact your kid, preferably a mobile phone. To avoid looking like a helicopter parent, you can chat with them for updates using, ahem, a certain chat app for kids whose website you’re currently on.
- Check the candy collected by your kids for sharp objects or signs of tampering before letting them eat it.
Roo Kids Chat App is a kid-friendly instant messenger with minimum but critical parental controls.
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Photo by Sean McGrath licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC 2.0)
A 2016 update of the Influence Central digital-usage study revealed that the new average age of children who get their first smartphones is 10.3 years old. Moreover, 64% of kids can now access the internet through their own laptops or mobile gadgets, as opposed to 42% in 2012. And when it comes to social media, 50% of children have their own accounts at 12 years old.
Although these findings clearly demonstrate that the age of tech savvy kids keeps on getting younger and younger, it’s still up to parents to decide if they should hand smartphones or tablets to their little ones.
If you are wondering whether it’s time to let your own child have their very own mobile gadget, check out the reminders listed below.
Introduce them to mobile devices properly
Childcare resource PBS Parents advises that parents should wait until their child is at least 3-years-old before exposing them to smartphones or tablets. This is because children aged 2 and below still learn best from real world experiences, rather than watching or interacting with a program tailored for toddlers on a screen.
At age 3, however, they can already benefit from educational programs and apps, in addition to their non-digital counterparts. Dr. Carolyn James, a designer of learning toys and games, says that “This [educational media] content often uses strategies such as repeating an idea, presenting images and sounds that capture attention, and using child rather than adult voices for the characters.”
Take into consideration your child’s everyday environment and activities
There are several things you need to ask yourself first before heading over to the tech store to buy a smartphone for your child, regardless of his/her age according to media outlet CBC News. For instance, if your child takes the bus on his/her own or walks alone to school, a phone will be useful to always have as an available means of communication.
This also holds true for children who have after school activities so they can stay in contact with their parents or ask mom or dad to fetch them when it’s time to go home, especially when it’s already getting dark.
Check the device’s specifications and features, subscription plans, and which applications to install
Tech press group Digital Trends listed some child friendly smartphones, each with its own unique features. Capabilities like GPS tracking and parental controls are some of the most vital when choosing a mobile phone for your child.
It is important to note, however, that you should avoid tracking your child’s phone behind their back so you won’t break their trust. Have an honest conversation with your child about why you would enable tracking features and relay the importance of safety and security. Make it clear to your child that it is not to spy on them.
Some mobile devices have nifty features like SOS buttons or a sync option to a parent’s phone for remote access. Premium smartphones on the other hand, like iPhone 6S, are now equipped with security enhancements such as fingerprint sensors, explains O2 as a means of protection from accidental or uncontrolled online purchases.
Explore different subscription plans as well. A ‘pay as you go’ plan is practical; as you can match it to your child’s needs, rather than taking an unlimited plan right away. Additionally, there are plans that allow families to share minutes and data.
Selecting applications is also necessary regarding your child’s mobile experience. For instance, a blog post from Roo Kids highlighted why it’s important to use kid-safe chat apps. It was mentioned that some apps attract predators and other malicious elements due to the anonymity provided by these types of software. These applications and online interactions play a crucial role to your child’s safety and wellbeing.
Set rules and manage how much time your child will spend daily on a mobile device
You can also set up rules such as ‘No phones during dinner.’ To maintain your child’s perspective of balance about digital and real world interaction. It is also advised to discuss cyberbullying and sexting with older children to enlighten them of the dangers of using technology.
Limiting screen time is important as well. Jeannie Galindo, an instructional technology supervisor at Manatee County School District in Florida recommends “no more than a half an hour per sitting for a four to five year old, no more than an hour per sitting for a six to seven year old.”
For high school students on the other hand, two hours or less is enough especially in gaming. But Galindo also said, “If the student is using the device as a productivity tool that time would obviously be greater.”
As your child grows older, you can gradually increase freedom. Just make sure to continuously instill the value of responsibility.
With all these considerations in mind, you can now thoroughly prepare your child for handling mobile gadgets. Remember that the society today relies heavily on technology; hence letting your child have a smartphone or tablet will definitely impact his/her life while growing up, all the way into adulthood.
Exclusively written for Roo Kids App
by TeachingJhen
Roo Kids Chat App is a kid-friendly instant messenger with minimum but critical parental controls.
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Roo Kids Chat App is available for download on iOS, Android and on Kindle Fire devices.
There is a revolution afoot. This is true not only in politics, where people are railing against the establishment all over the world, but also in the field of parenting, where parents are beginning to realize that some time-honoured practices may not be all that effective.
One of those practices is spanking. Almost all of us have been spanked multiple times when we were children (many of us even after we’d grown up). For as far as anyone can remember, the go-to form of discipline for errant children has been a tight slap on one body part or another. A slap will do the short-term job of getting your kid to behave for some time, but recent research has shown that it accomplishes little else. In fact, spanking has been shown to have several ill-effects on your kid’s psyche.
Apart from immediate compliance, spanking has the following negative effects:
1. Spanking leads to aggressive behavior- According to a study done by Duke University, children spanked as 1-year-olds are more likely to behave aggressively. According to the AAP, “spanking models aggressive behavior as a solution to conflict and has been associated with increased aggression in preschool and school children.” A 2010 Pediatrics study with Tulane University, led by Dr. Catherine Taylor, controlled for a host of issues including depression, drug abuse, spousal abuse, and even whether she considered abortion while pregnant. All of these factors aside, spanking was still a “strong predictor of violent behavior.” Taylor surveyed mothers in 20 cities — once when their children were 3 years old, then again when they were 5. The kids who were spanked more often turned out to “demand immediate satisfaction of their wants and needs, become frustrated easily, have temper tantrums and lash out physically against other people or animals.” Basically, kids who were spanked were more violent.
2. Spanking leads to lower IQs in kids- According to Sociologist Murray Straus from the University of New Hampshire (a man who has been studying corporal punishment since 1969), the more children were spanked, the lower their IQs. He even tested this theory in other nations, as well. Straus studied 32 countries and found that the average IQ was lower in nations where spanking was common. During his U.S. research, Straus and his colleague Mallie Paschall found that among 2-to-4-year-old kids, the kids who weren’t spanked at the beginning of the study performed a full five points higher on IQ tests than those who had been spanked. Among children between the ages of 5 and 9, there was a 2.8-point IQ gap.
3. The Slippery Slope Argument- Typically a parent will spank when they are angry, irritable, tired, or stressed — like when a child is in danger or when a mom’s patience fuse snaps. In a survey published in Pediatrics, 50% of the respondents admitted that they spanked because they “lost it.” The survey in Pediatrics proved that “spanking” has a pretty broad spectrum. And apparently a shocking amount of spanking takes corporal punishment up a notch by using something other than an open hand. According to a 2008 American Journal of Preventive Medicine study, using an object during spanking raises the risk of child abuse by nearly 9 times. Stefan Molyneux (from Freedomain Radio) also points out that, “When punishment fails, parents tend to increase the intensity of its use rather than change strategies.”
4. Excessive spanking leads to mental disorders- This, of course, puts kids at increased risk of child abuse, especially as kids get bigger. Considering so many parents use harsher means of spanking beyond an open hand on diapered buttocks, this must be said: researchers in Canada found that up to 7 percent of mental health disorders (depression, anxiety, panic disorders, mood disorders, social phobias, etc.) were associated with physical corporal punishment during childhood, including spanking, shoving, and grabbing. Corporal punishment (again — this term includes more than just an occasional swat) is also a predictor of adult delinquency, violence, and child abuse.
5. Spanking sets a bad example for kids- Many researchers are in agreement on this point: Spanking might correct the problem in the immediate moment, but it typically doesn’t have long-term benefits. (Beyond teaching that hitting is an acceptable way to express yourself and correct behavior). One study cited in Corporal Punishment and its Effects on Children’s Cognitive and Social Development found that over half of mothers said that spanking was the wrong thing to have done in at least half of the times they spanked their kids. At what age does “spanking” cross the line from discipline to abuse? Because by the age of 11, 18% of kids are still being hit one or more times a week. And that number is even higher for boys, who are spanked more than girls.
Those who were spanked as kids are much more likely to spank their own kids. Is this because it’s an effective form of discipline? Or is it because it’s hard to break the parenting cycle? Spanking does, however, instill that it’s okay to hit, considering infants and toddlers absorb our actions as guidelines on how to behave. Apart from immediate compliance, spanking has negative effects on other behaviors.
So what can we learn from this? Parenting behavior is evolving. People are beginning to see that just because something has been done for a long time, doesn’t mean that it has to continue. It is better to be more subtle in the way you deal with your kids. Every time they misbehave is a teachable moment.
Earlier, people who were concerned about their children’s safety online would just impose a blanket-ban on the internet. But now, they prefer to introduce their kids to the internet in a safe way. Roo Kids Chat App is one of those safe ways. By using Roo Kids Chat App, your kid can learn how to chat with other people over the internet in a safe environment before moving on to less safe options and you, as parents, can teach your kid how to stay safe before they move on to unsafe apps like WhatsApp. While the internet has its downsides, the increased flow of information has made us realize that there are better ways to do certain things. The human race has progressed. Parenting methods must progress too.
Roo Kids Chat App is a kid-friendly instant messenger with minimum but critical parental controls.
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All parents want a safe and fun way to message or talk to their kids when they’re not together. The market is flooded with messaging apps. However, most of these apps are unsafe for kids to use with potentially dangerous ramifications.
These are the reasons why your child should use only kid-friendly and safe messaging apps-
1. Most messaging apps are not safe- Most messaging apps on the various app stores are meant for kids over the age of 13 and are very dangerous for underage kids to use. Most parents either don’t realize this or don’t realize the danger that their kids are exposed to. Some of these apps allow users to use them anonymously, which attracts predators and other malicious elements to these apps. We have outlined some of the most dangerous apps and their consequences in a previous article. Then there are apps like SnapChat, which have become popular among children because kids think that their pictures and messages are deleted after a certain period of time. This makes them indulge in risky behavior which leads to more cases of blackmail and bullying because the kids don’t realize that their photos and messages can be saved and shared.
2. The law- Most countries have a law like the United States’ COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) which offers parents some rights regarding their children. Apps which come under laws like COPPA are fined heavily if they do not comply with the rules. However, apps and websites meant for the age of 13 and over are not required to do so. Here are some of the rights laws like COPPA guarantee you as a parent:
- Permission as a parent to have all information related to your child be deleted permanently.
- Prevention of your child’s information being sold to third parties.
- Preventing your child from purchasing items online without parental consent.
- Requirements of the service provider to protect your child’s information and train employees/vendors to do the same.
- Right as a parent to view all of your child’s digital footprint online.
The moment your child signs up for a 13+ app or website, you lose all of these protections.
WHY YOU SHOULD USE ROO KIDS CHAT APP
Keeping in mind the spike in identity theft, online bullying and other forms of cyber-crime, it is simply not worth it to expose your child to that kind of risk. Roo Kids Chat App is COPPA compliant. We do not sell or share your information with any third parties. We do not host any advertisements. We do not try to find out your geo-location. We don’t even store your chat history on a server. We could make a lot of money by not complying with laws like COPPA, but we can’t in good conscience expose our users to risk. It’s not worth it. It’s time that parents begin to recognize that too.
Roo Kids Chat App is a kid-friendly instant messenger with minimum but critical parental controls.
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Roo Kids Chat App is available for download on iOS, Android and on Kindle Fire devices.
It’s human nature to be protective of your kids. Parents see everything that’s going on in the world and feel worried for their children’s safety. Being protective of their offspring is a primal instinct of not only humans, but of most living beings on Earth. In some cases, however, some parents are too protective of their children.
Due to concerns about environmental responsibility and the convenience of typing on a screen, the physical act of writing is being phased out of our lives, be it from classrooms or offices. As a consequence, the thought that used to go into writing something is no longer put into it. People are putting less and less thought into grammar and punctuation and are relying on in-built electronic aids like autocorrect. Parents can use kid-friendly texting apps like Roo Kids Chat App as a teaching tool to teach their kids things like correct grammar and punctuation. They can observe their kids’ texting habits in a controlled and private environment and can instruct them on proper texting etiquette.
Unfortunately, bullying has been a staple of school life for as long as we can remember. 45% of young people experience bullying before the age of 18. More than 16,000 young people are absent from school because of bullying. 83% of young people say bullying has a negative impact on their self-esteem. 30% of young people have gone on to self-harm as a result of bullying. 10% of young people have attempted suicide as a result of bullying.
Bullying is as much a part of school life today as it ever was. What’s different today, however, is that much of that bullying and predatory behavior is happening online.
Today, there is no shortage of apps on the various app stores that offer anonymity to their users. These apps tend to be very popular with young people. They also tend to attract the worst elements of society, who want to prey on the insecurities and vulnerabilities of young people.
