Cell phone monitoring, and more on the four-day school week
On other SunSentinel.com blogs today:
Cell phones are great for emergencies and as a way to stay constantly connected to your child. But children may abuse the privilege by browsing the Web too long, sending out too many texts or talking on the phone too much, all of which could run up your bill depending on your plan.Want more control? Check with your carrier.
For instance, AT&T recently added a new feature to its menu of wireless parental controls. It allows parents to put more parameters around a child’s use of the mobile Internet. They can set a monetary limit or a megabyte or gigabyte limit for mobile Web browsing for the month, as well as set time of day restrictions on mobile Web use.
Read the rest on Consumer Talk with Daniel Vasquez
Working parents might shudder at the notion of a four-day school week for their kids, but I actually think it could be a good idea for high school students.But only for high school students.
For elementary and middle school kids, it’s a terrible idea.
That’s because having a permanent free day during the workweek would be too nettlesome for working parents, who’d have to scramble for child-care alternatives.
But a four-day week for high school kids, who are older and more independent, could be a money-saving idea that has other benefits for society.
Of course, it could also lead to trouble, if kids don’t have anything productive to do.
Read the rest in Mayo on the side, the blog of Sun Sentinel columist Michael Mayo.
Gretchen Day-Bryant has a son in high school and a daughter in middle school. She’s lived to tell about the struggles of juggling little kids and work.
Joy Oglesby has a preschooler...
Cindy Kent Fort Lauderdale mother of three. Her kids span in ages from teenager to 20s.
Rafael Olmeda and his wife welcomed their first son in Feb. 2009, and he's helping raise two teenage stepdaughters.
Lois Solomon lives in Boca Raton with her husband and three daughters.
Georgia East is the parent of a five-year-old girl, who came into the world weighing 1 pound, 13 ounces.
Brittany Wallman is the mother of Creed, 15, and Lily, 7, and is married to a journalist, Bob Norman. She covers Broward County government, which is filled with almost as much drama as the Norman household. Almost.
Chris Tiedje is the Social Media Coordinator and the father of a 7-year-old girl, and two boys ages 4 and 3.
Kyara Lomer Camarena has a 2-year-old son, Copelan, and a brand new baby. 
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