Orange County Register

“Teens today get more ‘hugs’ on Facebook than hugs in real life,” says Karen Child Ogden, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and one of the creators of the renowned children’s book series, Temptation of a Generation, which tackles topics relating to tweens and technology.  Ogden, who is based in Costa Mesa, adds that “They are losing key face-to-face communication skills that will help them in their future relationships and careers. Real life requires relationships in real time.”

As a mom of two young boys this concerns me. Their reality and means of communication is vastly different than what I experienced growing up in the old days – way back when we didn’t have laptops. They’ll never know a world without personal computers and cell phones.  With this in mind, I really don’t want technology to rule my children, I want to rule the technology and help my sons benefit from what it has to offer.

So when I heard that the Huntington Beach City School District in conjuction with the Huntington Beach Educational Foundation, and the parent organizations of each of our nine schools, was offering a Parent Empowerment Academy addressing these issues, and featuring Karen Child Ogden as the keynote speaker, I was thrilled.

Knowing that a few of my fellow Huntington Beach moms and dads read The Mom Blog (at least they say they do) I want to encourage them to attend the October 21st event to be held at the HBCSD Board Room from 7:00pm-9:30pm.

Meanwhile, at  the national level, the Temptation Series creators Karen Child Ogden and Danielle Tiano recently launched a back to school campaign titled, “Going Old School.” By promoting “I ♥ Real Time,” the campaign encourages teenagers to lessen their cell phone use, nourish their friendships through real-time communication, play sports and board games and maintain their privacy on social networking sites.

The campaign includes 12-year-old Nickelodeon star Aria Wallace (of the Roxy Hunter movie series and iCarly fame) who has challenged herself to go 40 days without a cell phone along with a limited amount of online time. Starting October 12th, you’ll be able to follow Aria on her no tech/low tech journey at http://blog.ariawallace.com .

By teaming up with this teen star, Ogden and Tiano hope to reach both teens and parents alike with their vital message.

Well, I know I’ll be following along. Good luck to Aria and cheers to the Temptation of a Generation Team for caring!

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