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We coach teen girls and guys, adults and advocates to boost self-respect, relationship respect and respect for all.

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Advocates, Featured, Programs, Special Events, Teachers

Respect Rally

Watch this video about our founding program: The Respect Rally for girls. Now the program is co-ed, too (see below!).


Respect Rally from Respect Rx on Vimeo.

The Respect Rally is a half-day conference—followed by a 18-session program guide (The Respect Keep It Going! Kit)—that empowers teens to boost self-respect and spread respect for all through The Respect Basics.

The Rally is based on our best-selling book for teen girls, RESPECT: A Girl's Guide to Getting Respect & Dealing When Your Line Is Crossed, which has been featured by CNN, National Public Radio, USA Today, Glamour, Teen Vogue and others.

Based on the success of the girl program, we have now created a co-ed Rally for teen boys, too, and a college program! The Rally can also be formatted for parents and teen advocates. For middle school students, we offer Respect Connect, a 90-minute program.

Watch these testimonials from a recent Rally we led for Derek Jeter's Turn 2 Foundation:

Co-Ed Respect Rally from Respect Rx on Vimeo.

After attending the Rally: 98% of 500 teens surveyed understood the difference between respect and disrespect (up from 51% prior to attending the Rally)…90% of teens respected each other as equals (up from 65%).…82% felt equipped to make positive choices and act as role models (up from 42%).

There are 3 ways to bring a Respect Rally to your site:
1. Book a Respect Rally: Respect Rx can lead a Rally for your campus or organization.

2. Get trained: Attend a train-the-trainer and learn how to be a Respect Rally Leader. Deliver the program for your campus or non-profit organization year after year!

3. Do both: Respect Rx can lead your Rally and then train you—and the teens or young adults you serve—how to lead the program at your site in the future.

Program Snapshot: How it can work for you. (PDF)

INFORMATION KITS
Teen Girls (PDF)

Co-ed Teens (PDF)

College (PDF)

CONTACT US
Email or call (415) 315-9707

 
Special Events

Now booking Fall 2010 Rallies and Keynotes!

Respect Rally
To explore having a Respect Rally for teens, check out our program page or email events@respectrx.com.

Speaking
And I have a series of new interactive keynotes about respect for teens, parents and youth organizations. Contact the American Program Bureau to book your program! Speaker topics from APB's website:

TEENS
Respect Connect: Find out how Respect is connected to everything: your feelings about yourself, your choices, your relationships and your future. In this inspiring keynote presentation, teens learn how to connect self-respect to their choices today—and their future.

Respect in Relationships: What makes a relationship respectful? And when can you tell if disrespect has taken over? In this keynote presentation, Macavinta addresses how to use the Respect Basics to make sure respect is a basic in all your relationships: family, friends, and with boyfriends/girlfriends.

Spread Respect: What is the change you want to be and see? In this keynote speech, teens are inspired to spread respect. They hear stories and watch video clips about disrespect going on in the world that negatively affects us all. Then they explore their own plan to make a difference and their voices heard.

GIRLS
Body Respect: A big part of self-respect is respecting your body too. In this keynote presentation, Macavinta brings to light the forces that can often make a girl disconnect and disrespect from her body or even hate her body (and the person who lives there). With eye-opening discussion, girls will walk away with the ability to make healthier choices, and more importantly, how to respect themselves.

The New Popular: Respect: It’s time for a respect revolution — no overthrow necessary! In this innovative keynote, girls learn to work together to create a sense of sisterhood at school and in the world at large. Macavinta addresses the roots of issues like name-calling, rumors, and sexual harassment so that girls know how to deal in the face of disrespect. Girls also get the tools to rise above drama and transform friends into foes—and most importantly, become their own best friends.

PARENTS/ADULTS
How to be a Respect Role Model: Learn how to model the Respect Basics for your kids, and how to reap the benefits along the way. From setting more boundaries to trusting your gut to the Respect Levels of Listening, discover how to make sure respect is a basic in your family—and beyond.

contact:
Melissa Abrahams
The American Program Bureau
(800) 225-4575 ext. 1621
mabrahams@apbspeakers.com

 
respectrx
Advocates, Body Image + Health, Special Events

Our Body Workshop Guide!

Respect Rx is a partner of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week.

FREE BODY RESPECT SESSION
You can download our facilitator's guide for the Body Session from our new Respect: Keep It Going! Kit. You can use the guide to lead teen girls or young women in a powerful respect-building session focused on their bodies. Fill out this form to download the session guide!

 
respectrx
Special Events

Rally Tour Diary!

We've been traveling the country partnering with teens and adults to spread respect. And we have many more stops to go for Domestic Violence Awareness Month!

I just got back from the Lead ON! for Peace and Equality Youth Minisummit hosted by the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault . The young men and women (and advocates) there were so powerful, creative and open. They are working together to end violence and to help all Alaskans thrive. I learned so much from them about the unique conditions they face in Alaska and how tight-knit their communities can be—an asset in creating change. They made some awesome video projects I'll post here later.

We also completed our first Rally at a KIPP school (KIPP San Jose Collegiate). If you haven't already, read this book (Work Hard. Be Nice.: How Two Inspired Teachers Created the Most Promising Schools in America) about how KIPP spreads respect through its culture and academic breakthroughs. And we did two Rallies with the energetic teens at the Envision school Impact Academy of Arts and Technology who made us cry with their stories, love of their school and stands for justice for all.

Next up, we head to Los Angeles for a Rally with the amazing young women at Cornelia Connelly High School. At Eastern Michigan University, college women will attend a Rally and then be trained to lead Rallies.

In New York we'll Rally with Derek Jeter's Turn 2 Foundation. The teens are members of Jeter's Leaders, which is a youth leadership and social change program. The program is designed to promote healthy lifestyles, academic achievement, and social change activism among high school students. Throughout the year, members of the Jeter's Leaders are involved in projects that offer opportunities for them to learn more about themselves and their community. The Leaders are expected to model positive behavior and deliver a message to their peers focusing on staying in school, remaining drug and alcohol free and giving back to the community.

Upcoming

Respect Rx Training
Blessed Trinity High School
Georgia
October 26, 2009

Respect Rally
Eastern Michigan University
October 23, 2009

Meetings with Allies and Lawmakers
Washington D.C.
Oct. 19-21, 2009

Respect Rally
Turn 2 Foundation: Derek Jeter's Leaders
New York
October 17, 2009

Respect Rally
Cornelia Connelly High School
Anaheim, CA
October 16, 2009

 
respectrx
Special Events

Pennsylvania and Texas Conferences for Women

Respect Rx is the exclusive provider of the Young Women's program at several state women's conferences. We'll be leading Respect Rallies there for thousands of teen girls—come join us!

Pennsylvania Conference for Women
Pittsburgh, PA
September 17, 2009

Texas Conference for Women
Houston, TX
November 12, 2009

 
Respect Makeover, Special Events, Women

What Do You Want? New Coaching Telecourse

Here are more details about our new 8-Week "What Do You Want?" Telecourse Coaching Program:

PROGRAM SNAPSHOT
• 8 Coaching Sessions:
• Archived sessions will be available by video and audio recording

COACHING SESSIONS
We'll lead you you through exercises during each session and coach some women live for the benefit of the whole group.

Week 1: What do you want?
Visioning exercises that will help you define what you want in your life—in 2009 and beyond—when it comes to your health, relationships, career, finances, mind, spirit, etc.

Week 2: Why do you want what you want?
Recognizing your values and what matters most to you. How to align your values and needs with your actions.

Week 3: What are your goals?
What do you want to make happen by the end of the program, the end of the year and long-term (think next 5 years)? Setting your outcomes—at least 3 to 5 clear goals you want to achieve with the support of the program.

Week 4: What will you do?
Designing a plan of action for to reach your goals.

Week 5: How will you stick to your plan?
Creating an accountability structure with our support. What are you saying yes to? What are you saying no to?

Week 6: How will you enjoy the journey?
Learning how to refuel and reward yourself to keep the dream alive.

Week 7: How will you recover from failure?
Celebrating success and transforming failures into lessons.

Week 8: How will you keep it real?
Learn insider tips & tricks for living life from the inside out. Preparing for the 4-week Support Session.

REGISTER
$299
Includes e-book with handouts for each session.
RSVP to events@respectrx.com

ABOUT THE COACHES
Jennifer Davidson is founder of Reality Check Coaching, holds an MBA and is a trained Professional Leadership Coach. She formerly was the hub leader of the GE Women's Network for Oregon and Southwest Washington and is green-belt trained in Six Sigma. Through Reality Check Coaching she coaches individuals and teams, and leads corporate trainings. Jennifer’s passion is working with young women to help them to achieve success, and training businesses to reach their goals.

Courtney Macavinta is founder and CEO of Respect Rx. She is an award-winning journalist, author, speaker and coach who has reached millions girls and women through her work, including her blog RespectRx.com and bestselling book, RESPECT: A Girl’s Guide to Getting Respect and Dealing When Your Line Is Crossed. Courtney offers private life and leadership coaching for girls, women and their advocates as well as professionals. She's also helped design training and development programs or materials for corporations including Gap Inc., Starbucks, Nike, Jamba Juice, Genentech and Hewlett-Packard. In addition, she's developed train-the-trainers and programs for Girls For A Change, Girl Scouts of the USA, Bay Area Girls Rock Camp and the Dove Self-Esteem Fund.

Jennifer and Courtney are both trained by The Coaches Training Institute where they met. Through their partnership, they are dedicated to empowering girls, women and men alike to find their inner leader. In addition to leading workshops at state women's conferences, they also recently created and facilitated a leadership program for young women who attended the Democratic National Convention.

 
Partners, Special Events

Carry The Vision Once More

I'll be speaking at this powerful peace conference this Saturday. Want to join me for my birthday?

Carry The Vision
Saturday: December 13, 2008
9 am to 1 pm
Santa Clara University
500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95053

(Mentioned in the video: Girls For A Change)

 
respectrx
Advocates, School, Special Events, Teachers

Respect Rally Kick Off

by Jen Uribe, Respect Rx Programs Assistant

September marked the launch of our new program: The Respect Rally, which inspire girls to change their worlds—inside and out.

After holding a Rally in Salem, OR., we led a Rally for Notre Dame High School San Jose, CA. As our volunteers, teachers and other supporters of Respect Rx were coming in and helping us out in the gym we could not wait to meet the 600 high school girls! As time flew by, it was finally time for the first slide of our rally, and the climate of the room could not have been more empowering.

There were 600 pairs of beautiful eyes staring onto stage, waiting to hear what the Rally leaders (Courtney, Respect Rx founder, and Jennifer Davidson, founder of Reality Check Coaching) were all about. Well it did not take long for them to fall in love with both of these empowering women and just seeing how both their positive energies work together. Once the Respect Rx team got the crowd going these girls were dying to speak out. The girls sat in pods of 12 and did activities focused on building respect in three categories: Myself, My Relationships and My World. After each activity, lines with more than 20 girls would form when we asked to come up and speak to their classmates. At one point girls even spontaneously broke into dancing around the gym in a big train to the song "Unwritten."

We could not have been more thrilled with how things went. It was all of our dreams come true. We could tell the girls were learning and yearning for more, which made every activity even more exciting. These girls were not only taking in all of our information but they were also teaching one another the core concepts of respect from their own unique experiences. This was incredibly inspiring both to the girls themselves and the Respect Rx team because this is exactly what we are all about: girls teaching girls!

We had girls write up their "Respect Promise" and here's what a few said:

To respect myself more, I will:

Appreciate and embrace what I have, take care of myself better, and think more positively about myself.
Accept myself for who I am, and not what others want me to be.
Look at myself everyday and tell myself I am beautiful on the inside and outside and no one can undermine me.

Overall, the day was spent with a variety of emotions from a variety of sources, but we can all agree that the rally was a huge success! We want to thank all of our supporters and we can't wait for our next rally, because we want to reach out to as many girls as we possibly can.

 
respectrx
Girls, Social Change + Activism, Special Events

CosmoGIRL! and NYC Young Women's Volunteer Summit

After making the rounds as an inner beauty expert for CosmoGIRL!, I have to say the most exciting events were April 26 in New York and April 19 in Los Angeles. I met the most amazing young women. Oprah: Call these young women today! For the rest of us, add them to your REAL role model list:

Katy Weidner: She won a nationwide CG! essay contest about what she's doing in her community to make a difference. To keep girls friendships strong in the first year of high school, she organized her friends to come together during the holidays and raise funds ($900!) to buy Toys for Tots (and the shopping part was fun too). Katie is committed to girls staying strong by sticking together and giving back together.

Christina Hu: She's a dedicated volunteer for Children to Children and a leader on its Youth Planning Committee. She helped plan the NYC events for Global Youth Service Day. She encouraged girls at the NYC Young Women's Volunteer Summit to follow their volunteering passions!

Chanel Pranckevicus: In 2008, Chanel founded For Young Individuals (FY10304), a non-profit in her Staten Island Community that promotes positive self-development, activism and social responsibility. She is currently planning a non-violence conference in her community. Did I mention she also commutes by ferry and subway every day to attend Medgar Evers CUNY College in Brooklyn? She wants girls to know that: "Change starts with you. And a better you, makes a better community!"

Tara Suri: When she was just 13, Tara founded Helping Orphans Pursue Education (H.O.P.E.) Tara traveled to India to spend one summer at an orphanage and helped raise funds to build a new, safe and warm dormitory there (vs. the thatched-roof they used to sleep under). She's also supported orphanages in Sudan and Ghana. Now she is launching Aandolan.org as a resource for other youth that want to start their own service projects.

SEE PICS BELOW:



www.flickr.com








courtneymacavinta's NYC Young Women's Volunteer Summit  photoset courtneymacavinta's NYC Young Women's Volunteer Summit photoset




 
respectrx
Media, Parents, Programs, Special Events

The Getting REAL Tour

  • 92% of teen girls would like to change something about the way they look
  • 86% of the approx. 10 million American girls and women who suffer from an eating disorder report the onset of their condition by age 20
  • Just 2% of women think they’re beautiful
  • More than 50% of women between ages 18-25 would rather be run over by a truck than be “fat”

Girls and women: We don’t have to let unrealistic ideals diminish our power. We can get REAL instead.

Check out the Getting REAL workshops for girls, college women and moms. And join our Getting REAL new social network.
Colleges: Book this interactive presentation today in conjunction with your campus’ National Eating Disorders Awareness Week or V-Day programs in 2008.

 
respectrx
Advocates, School, Special Events

Community College Scholarship

This is what can happen when a group of women get together to empower each other. I started ChicksWhoClick more than six years ago (before we had myspace and facebook to play with!). It's a private network of creative and powerful women who know people. And this year, we launched a scholarship! The winner will get cash for college and be invited to the network. Check it out and spread the word! We're hoping to support one ambitious young woman's first year of community college. We needed this kinda support when were starting out and we're only happy to pay it forward.

ChicksWhoClick Scholarship
Are you a young woman between the ages of 17 and 20 who will be entering community college for the 2008-2009 academic year? If so, you may qualify for the ChicksWhoClick (CWC) scholarship!

About CWC
ChicksWhoClick is an international private network of women in media, creative arts, communications and girls' & women's advocacy. CWC was founded in 2002 and consists of an email list, social networking web site and offline networking events. Members of CWC share inside lines on job and project leads, publicize their work, get career advice and contacts, collaborate and support each other's work and goals.

About the scholarship
CWC believes in supporting young women in reaching their potential. We've created a privately funded scholarship to help one young woman pay for her community college education in pursuit of a career in media, journalism, creative arts, communications, or girls' & women's advocacy.

The winner will receive:
• A cash gift-card in the amount of $1,150 to be applied toward your college education
• A membership invitation to CWC to introduce you to a network of mentors and peers who can support you as you pursue your education, future job opportunities and creative paths.

How the winner is chosen:
A CWC panel will review applicant submissions. By July 1, finalists will be contacted for proof of community college enrollment and a brief phone interview. The panel will choose the winner based on a majority vote. Winner will be announced in August 2008. Applicants will be judged on the strength of their essays and the idea those essays contain. Finalists will also be evaluated on interviews.

Qualifications
To qualify, the applicant must:
• Be a young woman between the ages of 17-20 living in the United States.
• Be attending a U.S. community college in fall 2008 or winter 2009.
• Be intent on pursing a degree or career in communications, journalism, new media, creative writing or women's studies.
• Agree to send an update to CWC after the conclusion of the 2008-2009 academic year describing how your education is evolving, how the scholarship has supported you and what's next for you.
• Be prepared to provide proof of enrollment for fall 2008 or winter 2009 semesters.

How to apply
Only electronic submissions will be accepted.

DEADLINE: MAY 1, 2008

Please submit the following materials to Tara Swords, CWC moderator, via email (tara@taraswords.com) by the deadline:

o An essay of 700-800 words telling us your intended field of study, why you are drawn to it, and how this scholarship and support from CWC can help you achieve your goals.

• The following personal information in the body of your email:
o Name, age, mailing address and telephone number
o Name, city and state of the community college you plan to attend and when you will enroll
o Your intended field of study

Good luck!

 
respectrx
Special Events

5th Annual Girl Summit

Hey girls & women! I've been offline for awhile because I was chair of the 5th Annual Girl Summit presented by Girls For A Change. More than 1,400 girls came together to learn how to change their worlds—inside and out!!! It was so powerful to see all these girls and women partnering together to make a change and celebrate their REAL power. Check it out! Also watch the new video all about the girls and women in GFC (I helped make it and it still makes me cry!).

I also talked about the Summit when I appeared on View from the Bay this week. The focus of the segment was the Getting REAL Tour (my new project with the fabulous Audrey Brashich).

 
respectrx
Body Image + Health, Self-Respect + Self-Esteem, Special Events

Dove Campaign for Real Beauty Workshop

Next week I'll be heading to Connecticut to present a self-esteem workshop for educators sponsored by Dove in cooperation with the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference.

The goal of the CIAC workshop is to empower educators with resources and tools (like the 7 Respect Basics) to help them support girls in building their self-esteem. While I'm in town, I'll also be doing an assembly for 275 freshman girls at nearby Southington High School.

I was introduced to Dove through its partner Girl Scouts. Together Dove and the Girls Scouts created the uniquely ME! self-esteem program (and I'm excited that I'll soon be writing articles for the uniquely ME! Web site). It's very inspiring to be a part of the Girl Scouts' and Dove's investment in girls and their role models. Check out Dove's film and the uniquely ME! program here. And if you haven't already, see Dove's new self-esteem spot featuring real girls (get your tissues ready!) which speaks to the heart of why I'm so devoted to empowering and valuing girls (and the girl in me.).

Check out Respect Rx workshops and programs here!

 
respectrx
Social Change + Activism, Special Events

Can Youth Carry the Vision of Nonviolence? YES

In honor of the Season of Nonviolence, Respect Rx is participating in an amazing conference in San Jose: Carry the Vision. The event will bring together more than 850 youth, parents, community leaders and members of Chavez, Gandhi and King families (I hope those names ring a bell). The goal is to:

ENGAGE with others who are transforming their lives and communities through the power of nonviolence.

LEARN nonviolent practices that allow you to creatively and dynamically meet the challenges of our time.

DISCOVER how the human values of caring and compassion can fuel our commitments to deep and profound change.

REALIZE what you can do to make a difference.

A Youth Leadership Summit is at the heart of the conference. More than 50 youth delegates (including two fabulous young women nominated by Respect Rx) will come together to explore their vision of the future and discover how the principles and practices of nonviolence can be applied to create a visionary model for 21st century leadership in the community and the world. These amazing young adults will also get to interact and learn from legendary social change agents including Arun Gandhi, Ela Gandhi, Yolanda King (keynote), Dr. Bernard Lafayette, Jr., Paul Chavez, Richard Chavez, Dolores Huerta and others.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED
1. Join in: Attend the conference and bring your teens:
Saturday, April 21, 2007
9 AM to 5 PM
Evergreen Valley College
3095 Yerba Buena Rd,
San Jose, CA

2. Practice: Find out how to commit to nonviolence in 64 Ways in 64 Days.

3. Spread the word: Let your friends and family know about the conference.

I hope to see you there--peace be with you (and also with you and you!).

 
respectrx
Media, Special Events

What Girls Are REALLY Doing Online

My friend Anastasia Goodstein of Ypulse.com has a new book out: Totally Wired! In the book, she bridges the generational and digital divide by letting adults know what's up with tweens and teens online--and that they don't have to view the Net as something that's going to negatively snare their kids.

Girls For A Change will be hosting one of Anastasia's book signings later this month (and I'm honored to be introducing her at the event!). Details:

Totally Wired: Meet the Author
Monday, April 16
7 p.m.
Books Inc.
1375 Burlingame Avenue
Burlingame, CA

Please come out to meet the author of this well-researched guide for parents (and teens alike)! Check out more about the book here. Also, download the discussion guide for schools, librarians and teachers! PLUS read a Q&A with Anastasia:

How did you become so interested in this topic?
Blogging about teen media and marketing day in and day out means blogging about teens and technology. Since this generation has grown up “totally wired” with the Internet and cell phones, it has not only transformed the way that teens interact media and marketers, but also with each other, their parents and teachers. When MySpace hit its tipping point and the media began to pay attention to this story, I felt like a lot of coverage was helping to create a moral panic amongst parents around what teens and tweens were doing online. I wanted to be “a voice of reason” for parents and give them a balanced view of what teens are really doing – the good (of which there is lots) and the not so good. My hope is that this book can inspire conversations between parents and teens and bridge the growing gap between teens’ actual online lives and their parents’ perception of what teens are doing online.

What was it like interviewing teenagers for the book? And how did you get them to be so honest and open with you?
I have always loved working with teens from my days working with C.I.T.s (counselors in training) at a summer camp to mentoring inner city girls in Boston to the teens I work with locally each week in San Francisco. I also went through some tough teenage years myself, which is why I’m so drawn to this work and this population. I have a lot of empathy for teens and am a good listener. I think if you treat teens as young adults, respect them and validate that what they have to say is important, you will be surprised at how much they open up to you. I actually really enjoyed hearing about how technology has become integrated into their everyday lives and interactions.

Do boys and girls have different tendencies when it comes to online socializing? Are there different things that parents should be concerned about for each?
Girls tend to be more social and communication oriented both online and off. Growing up totally wired gives them more ways to keep these conversations going. They can now text, IM or comment on each other’s blogs or MySpace pages in addition to talking in the halls, at lunch, after school or at home on the phone. All of the research shows girls are more active on social networking sites than boys (although they’re there, too). Boys tend to be more interest driven – listening to music, talking about technology, playing video games or uploading videos. There is also a striking difference in how girls and boys represent themselves with avatars (virtual representations of themselves online). Girls tend to create avatars that look more like them, albeit somewhat enhanced, and spend lots of time and energy dressing them. Boys tend to create avatars more like video game characters and are interested in having do fantastical things or have cool weapons. Parents should talk to both girls and boys about being safe, not giving out too much info online, not talking to virtual strangers, never meeting someone in person unless accompanied by a parent, and treating other teens ethically and respectfully online and off.

What advice do you have for parents who worry that their children are spending too much time on the internet and not enough time developing the social skills that result from in-person interactions?
Parents need to set boundaries with children and teens – even if they protest at the time, I believe they actually want you to do this. Too much of anything is never good – I suggest parents help teens set boundaries around their own internet use. For example, teens may appear to be
masters at multi-tasking, but the reality is that having IM windows popping up and the cell phone buzzing while trying to write a research paper or study, is distracting. Making homework time just about homework and having them log out of IM and turn the phone off, may feel painful, but they’ll actually retain more and get their work done faster – especially if they can socialize afterwards. There are tons of creative and educational activities teens can and should be doing online like writing blogs or uploading their art or creating a podcast or just researching whatever interests them. But I also think it’s important for teens to go outside, be in nature, go to the mall and hang out with their friends in person. Parents and teens need to work together to find the balance between time spent living life online and off. Parents should insist on teens turning off their phones (and leaving them outside the bedroom) after they go to bed. Believe it or not, this is when a lot of teen communication is happening.

Many parents are very fearful of the internet when it comes to their children – are these fears warranted?
All of the crime statistics I’ve read make it clear that children have more to fear from people they know than from strangers. That said, the internet is a virtual public space where adults and children can interact and where children can easily access objectionable content. Parents just need to be actively involved in what their kids are doing online. I interviewed parents who use filtering software for younger children and keep the computer in a central location in the house they can easily check in on to see where their children are surfing. But beyond filters, looking through their browser history or standing over them while they’re online, nothing can replace having a relationship with children and teens. Asking them to show you what sites they love and why, playing a game with them online, and most importantly teaching them values – talk about how it’s easier to say mean things to people online when you can’t see the person’s reaction, teach them what’s appropriate and inappropriate to post online. All the technology in the world can’t replace good parenting.

What are some common mistakes that parents make when trying to curb their children’s internet usage?
The most common mistakes would be relying too heavily on filtering technology – it’s often imperfect and blocks sites parents would be ok with, plus most internet savvy teens can get around it. Mostly, it doesn’t replace talking about sites they might stumble upon. I would also advise not overreacting if you discover your child has done something inappropriate online or posted something inappropriate. Use the opportunity as a teachable moment. It’s fine to restrict access for a time in response to an incident, but attempting to permanently cut it off will only deny teens the opportunity to experience all of the cool stuff that is online.

What is the most important lesson that you hope parents will learn from reading TOTALLY WIRED?
The most important lesson is that the internet is not the “big bad wolf.” It’s a virtual public space where teens are mostly doing what teens do offline – communicating, listening to music, doing homework, etc. But because it is a virtual space with the opportunity to be anonymous, and because of the viral nature of the web, it requires a different set of ground rules. In order to set these ground rules, parents need to become internet literate. They don’t have to learn HTML, but they do need to understand the basic features of a MySpace profile and how it works. There’s probably a teen in his or her bedroom with the door locked who would make a great teacher!