Episode 58: What to know when allowing your kid on Pinterest?

The Be THAT Mom Movement Podcast: Protecting kids in a digital world

Pinterest is more than just innocent pins. This episodes will give you a heads up on things to consider when giving your kiddo access to Pinterest.

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FULL TRANSCRIPTION:

Speaker 1 (00:00):

Okay. This one really took me by surprise when I started digging into it. And so I have to bring this to your attention too. If you are not aware of this today, we are going to talk about Pinterest and how it could be a risk for your kiddo and how we navigate it. Going forward. Stay tuned,

Speaker 2 (00:21):

Welcome to your source for tips, tools, and support to help you be that mom that is tuned in and proactive for yourself, your family, and for the wild ride of raising kids in this digital age, inspired by a mother's love with a relatable, real life. Proud to be that mom flair. This is the bead that mom movement with your host, Dolly Denson

Speaker 1 (00:46):

Friends. Did you hear there is an app that will transform the safety of your kids, smartphone and technology use. It is my favorite way to sleep easy at night and have peace of mind because it is monitoring my kids' activity online without me being in their business. It is the bark app and yes, bark like a dog bark bark bark. It tells you when there's something that you need to be concerned about starting at a small fee each month, you can protect your whole family across all devices. Get connected with bark today. Use code, be that mom for 20% off your subscription for life and get a seven day free trial to check it out. So Holy moly, like if it didn't have to get more complicated, how in the world is Pinterest, the place that we need to worry about the content that our child is consuming?

Speaker 1 (01:33):

It absolutely is. After I started digging, I was like, Holy cow, this is another place we need to pay attention to. Thankfully like I've mentioned and seeing their praises and probably every episode. And you're probably sick of hearing about them. Bark does monitor Pinterest. So that might be a major saving grace if you are wanting to allow your kiddo to be on Pinterest, but I want to talk about some of the specific risks. So you are aware. And so you can have a conversation with your kid and, you know, kind of keep a close eye on things when it comes to this. I think the biggest risk that all of us as parents have is to think that any of these things are benign and to not keep a close eye. So all of the things that I always talk about with monitoring and setting up that conversation and all of that is always, always, always a good thing.

Speaker 1 (02:26):

And just using something like bark to monitor, but also using which I haven't mentioned in several episodes, but the Barco Maddick that bark has where you basically can put in what sites you are allowing your kids to have. It can give you pointers on how to set up the settings for that site and the privacy settings and all of that. So those are always something that you can use to help you navigate these things. And if you were like me, or you're just kind of like sighing and like, Oh my God, another thing, like, how do I keep up with this is absolutely a feeling that I have. And it's just a part of us parenting where we have to do these things. So thank goodness for Bart. Thank goodness for all of the different awareness that is coming out in regards to these things.

Speaker 1 (03:12):

And hopefully the trajectory of all of this is that we are going to have more tools at our fingertips to help navigate this as time goes on, if we can just do some pushback against some of these sites that are just, you know, letting things go and our kids are the ones that are suffering in the process. And I think that's what we're seeing as far as like bark being produced in the pinwheel phone and the gab phone. Those are things that have come out of parents struggling with this, the Tik TOK watch there's the relay go device. Several of those things did not exist when my kids were younger and I was giving them the devices and all this stuff like there literally was not those options out there. So that's why when I talk about those things, I say literally they're like a mother's gift because I wish I could take them in a time capsule and go back in time and have them at my fingertips when I was navigating this years ago.

Speaker 1 (04:10):

So that's why if you were living in today's world and listening to this podcast and are, you know, grabbing these tools that are available for you to be so, so grateful for that, that these companies and these individuals that founded these organizations and these companies and these devices had the foresight and have the dedication to put this in place, because I do think they're an absolute gift for us as moms, but also for our children in the future that they deserve to have. And that we are allowing all of the digital things to Rob from them. If we are not implementing some sort of plan, you know, and being proactive about this. So let's talk a little bit about Pinterest and what it is that we need to be concerned about. The number one thing I think is that Pinterest isn't private and Pinterest has a chat feature.

Speaker 1 (05:04):

So anyone and everyone can be in touch with your kid. And to piggyback on that, a predator, a person that wants to take advantage of your kid could be watching what they pin and what boards they have. You know, if you're not familiar with Pinterest, it's basically like you have like a file cabinet and you're putting things in folders or a bulletin board where you're putting things or scrap. What do I want to say? Scrapbook something where you basically categorizing things and you're saving things for later. So I can look through there and I'm looking for a recipe for something really yummy that I like to eat chocolate chip cookies that are gluten-free. So cinnamon rolls, that's something I've been wanting to make. And I'm trying to find a recipe. That's good. That's gluten-free and dairy-free. So I don't get all of the block feeling from eating those things.

Speaker 1 (05:53):

And so I go on to Pinterest and I can pin those things and I can put them in categories such as healthy eating or gluten-free or, you know, healthy desserts for digital related stuff. I pin things on there. I have me be that mom movement board. I have one that's about digital safety. You can make a board that's about teen interest or teen safety, all those things. So basically you go on there and you can pin things according to your interests. Okay? So you've got, it's like a filing cabinet or a bulletin board, and you've got all these interests. Well, nothing is stopping from anybody else from going and looking at what your kid is, pinning, and then kind of gathering what their interests are and striking up a conversation with them. I've heard about several instances of moms saying that their kid was having a conversation with some stranger on Pinterest.

Speaker 1 (06:41):

So it is a thing. People have said that they've had this happen to their kid, where they are contacted through the chat feature. And as far as I know, I haven't found a way to turn off that chat feature. So that is a conversation that you need to have with your kiddo, not to talk to strangers. You never know who's behind that chat. Even if they send you a picture, we all know that can be edited. All the deep fakes and things that are out there in the world. It's very easy to edit how you look and make yourself look older or younger, all of those things. So have that conversation and let them know. You can never trust who is on the other end of that, unless you actually know them in real life and, you know, see them in real life. You never know who's on the other end.

Speaker 1 (07:20):

And so you have to be cautious about who you talk to in what you do on there and what you share and never, ever send pictures of yourself to someone you do not know. So that is the biggest risk that I see. The next risk that I see is what information can be consumed on Pinterest. So while Pinterest takes the stand of not being a place for pornography, and they're very aggressive about removing it, sexual content still pops up. Someone has said that their kid was able to figure out how to do a certain sexual act on there. Different things like that. Like things are always going to slip through. They cannot control all of those things. And Pinterest is also a place that's basically like linking to other websites. Like when I pin my episodes for the podcast, I'm pinning them to my blog post.

Speaker 1 (08:11):

So someone basically clicks on that and it takes them to my blog post. And then they can click from there to come to my podcast on Apple or wherever they listen to podcasts. So when they click on things on Pinterest, it's going to take them to another website. So that's where they can find pornography and sexual content. And that a note to make related to that is that if you are blocking YouTube and other things on their devices, they can find that they can access that like tech talk, YouTube, whatever the Ru Pinterest, when they click on those links. And then additionally, in addition to things like porn, some moms have said that that's where their kid learned to cut themselves in, or, you know, learned about, self-harm learned about suicide, learned about making things that are illegal. All of those things can be found on Pinterest.

Speaker 1 (09:05):

They also have Pinterest says that they ban this, they call it thin SPO, which is basically thin inspiration post. They ban those in their terms of service because they're usually accounts promoting disordered eating, but those type of posts still get through that have that unrealistic view of the human body. And then that will affect their self-esteem their body image and maybe induce eating disorders. There's that type of content on there too. And then the last thing is that it's basically hard to avoid the negative content that they can consume on there. And you don't know what that is. There's just so much that's on there. So just like I said, it's like a filing cabinet. Like they can look through and find the certain things that they're looking for, but that doesn't block them from the other things that are on there. Okay. So those are all very valid reasons why you should not allow Pinterest unmonitored.

Speaker 1 (10:04):

So definitely if you don't have bark on their device, bark does monitor Pinterest and I'm looking at barks website right now, and it says it monitors your child's account, including what they pin, even if it's a photo and accompanying descriptions, you'll get an alert if they encounter Pinterest porn or other issues like suicidal ideation self-harm and more along with recommended actions, you can take to talk to them and provide support. And like I've said, in other episodes, bark is very, very proactive in contacting you and following up with you. And sometimes you get silly alerts about like, my son is hunting him and my husband go hunting. And so sometimes it's a conversation with his grandpa about a certain gun that he wants to use or seeing such as that. And I'll get an alert for that. And it makes me laugh because I can see their whole conversation and it's all completely innocent and something that I'm aware of, but how wonderful is it that I don't have to be in their business all of the time I get to allow some privacy, but it still sends me alerts of things.

Speaker 1 (11:12):

It picks up on things that just might be a concern that it can't tell. But I can tell once I take a look at it, what a gift that is to have that now. So definitely consider that if you don't already have Bart use my code, be that mom for the discount. That's 20% off your subscription for the life of your subscription, one subscription for entire family. So whether you have one kid or 10 kids, it's one price and it has a seven day free trial for you to try it out. And when you sign up for that free trial using my code, I will send you an email with a link for downloadable tips for using bark and for navigating all of the things, my top tips for using that. Okay. So when you use that code, I will get in touch with you for that.

Speaker 1 (11:54):

If you're not interested in that, don't worry. I'm not going to spam me with any other emails. And, uh, you won't hear from me again unless you want to. Okay. So I hope that this was all very helpful for you. I was quite surprised when I started digging through the Pinterest stuff, I really just had no idea. My kids have never really taken a huge interest to Pinterest. My girls certainly do use it for things, but I don't think that they've ever liked used it for these types of things. But again, I did not monitor those things years ago, and now they are early twenties and upper teens. So they're kind of on their own. And we're navigating things in a new way now where they have more independence and are kind of adults. So there's that. All right. So I hope this was helpful for you and I will chat with you next time and please take advantage of some of the things I share in here about bark and pinwheel and the Griffon router.

Speaker 1 (12:47):

If you personally, as mom are needing self care, help getting into a workout routine, getting into focusing more on your own needs and your nutrition and things such as that. I use top of the line tools and have a support community for you. If you join me in my fit club, it is called the align, your life fit club. And I named it that because it literally is about aligning your daily actions with the way you want your life to be in a realistic way. No diets, no deprivation, just realistic, small baby steps with what makes sense for you. And then over time as you align those decisions, you will find that more of your life gets into alignment. And like I've said with other times that I've mentioned this, once you start having that foundation of strength for yourself, it trickles down to your kids, both just with your own inner strength and inner peace and your place where you are strong.

Speaker 1 (13:48):

And no one can take that from you because it's so, so easy as a mom to let all of your own needs slip away, you know, because the kids take so much time and energy and all of that. But once you have that place of strength, you're such a positive influence for your kid. As you show them that you can do this, you can be strong for yourself while being strong for them. And even when they're resistant to doing anything that you think is good, you know, those teen years where it's like, if it's mom or dad's idea, I'm not going to do it, they are watching. And over time they will pick up on what you're doing. You just need to stay consistent with it. So I did not know how to eat healthy, and I did not know how to influence my kids with doing that very much when they were much younger, but over time I have made baby tweaks to tiny tweaks to how we eat.

Speaker 1 (14:37):

And I exercise daily and I kind of integrate all of that into what I do. And while a few of them have been resistant to that, as they have gotten older, I see that they're picking up on what I do and what I say, and they're seeing that it's important. And so even if it looks like they're not listening or not interested or giving you pushback about changing, how you're eating or changing a few recipes that you make, or, you know, taking that time for your own exercise, your own self care, your own mental health over time, it does have an influence on them. So just stay strong and find that place for yourself for your own self care routine and all of that. And then the strength you get from that will trickle out and help you manage all these things. And when I was in my most difficult days, it was my police of my daily workout in my daily routine for taking care of myself.

Speaker 1 (15:29):

That gave me strength. In addition to like my spiritual and religious health and all of that, it gave me a place of strength that no one could take from me, even though I felt like the entire world around me was crumbling apart. So definitely while you're trying to find all of these places, navigating all of these things that I share with you still take that time for yourself. Find that place where you can have your own interest in your own things to fulfill yourself and to fill your own cup, because we cannot constantly give to others and lots we're giving to ourselves first. Okay. So I hope that was all helpful for you. I know I seemed like my last couple episodes have been a bit longer than I had been doing before. So I hope you stayed and listened for all of that. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you so much for those of you that have connected with me on social media and through email and left me reviews. I appreciated immensely, and I'm so glad to be able to bring this information to you and I'll chat with you next time.

Speaker 2 (16:28):

Thanks for tuning in being that mom isn't easy, but together we can be that mom's strong. Don't forget to leave a review, connect on social and join. Dolly's free community till next time

Speaker 1 (16:43):

Before you go check this out. If you are a mom that is listening to this podcast, you are wanting to keep your kids safe in the digital world. But let me tell you what is so very powerful and what helped me so so much when things got really tough in my parenting of the digital natives world, I already had a routine of taking care of myself every day with not only the simple things like drinking more water and getting enough sleep most of the time. Anyway. Um, but I also had a routine of exercise in a routine of fueling my body with good nutrition, with guaranteed nutrition, through a smoothie, with tools that helped me during my workouts and this routine. It sounds silly that it could help so much, but it did help me so much when I was gutted by the challenges of raising kids in this digital age, it helped me have a safe place.

Speaker 1 (17:33):

It helped me have a strength that I otherwise would not have mentally and spiritually and physically. And then it also on a day-to-day basis helps me to be more present for the kids because I'm more present for myself. First, if you do not have this in your life, I want to connect you with this. I want to simplify this for you, connect with me, and I will connect you with tools that work for anyone that simplify everything around exercising and eating and making this a habit that sticks. And that will be an example for your kids and your family. Connect with me. We'll have a discovery session. We'll figure out which options will work best for you. And then I will connect you with my online community to help support you as you get started and to help you keep up the motivation and the momentum to make this a lifestyle switch that lasts forever. So connect with me today.