Gen Y, Social Safety & Meningitis
A few weeks ago I attended the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) in San Antonio, Texas. And even though the research shows otherwise, there was a lot of time spent talking about student safety and the dangers lurking on the internet.
On my way home from San Antonio, I stood in line at the airport behind a mother who explaining to her tweenage daughter why she couldn't join MySpace or Facebook. The mother went on to share one scary story after another (mostly from Dateline NBC) about all the sexual predators lurking online in "the blogs and MySpace."
Ironically, as the mother continued to go on about the dangers on the web, I glanced down at her daughter's backpack and there was a luggage tag that had her name, address, school name and email. This information was fully exposed. To me, the information contained on that luggage tag put her daughter in far more danger than a creepy email from a stranger on MySpace.
So much time and energy is spent discussing the pitfalls of social networking sites, that many parents forget to address the legitimate dangers that exist in the offline world. This is especially true when it comes to issues related to kids health.
For example, did you know that adolescents, aged 11-18, are at an increased risk of contracting meningitis? Did you also know that meningococcal disease, while rare, can potentially kill an otherwise healthy teen in 48 hours or less?
Meningitis is a common name for infections that take place in the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Meningitis can be caused by viruses and by bacteria. As deadly as meningococcal disease can be, most cases in the United States (up to 83% of cases in adolescents and young adults) could be prevented by a single vaccination.
In addition to talking to your kids about social safety be sure to also take time to discuss health issues, like what behaviors make you more prone to becoming infected meningitis. This is especially important for older teens who are heading off to college and living in group housing.
And while it may be awkward (for you and your t/ween) it's important to teach kids to be aware of these issues and provide them with the information they need to stay safe--both online and offline.
And about that luggage tag....
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