Sarah Trombley Gives Tips on "Safe Texting" as Part of "We Are Pelham" Education Series

In a world where technology is ever advancing, parents and Pelham Public Schools staff joined together for an informative discussion and presentation about keeping children safe when communicating online. The event, part of the “We Are Pelham” parent education series, was led by digital parenting expert Sarah Gallagher Trombley, the founder of Digital Mom Media who also holds extensive experience in social media, including as an executive at Snapchat. 

Watch Video of the Presentation

Trombley helped attendees see the dangers of digital communication for children, but also went through the many forms which this communication takes and the controls and consequences therein. Many parents are becoming aware of the dangers posed to their children by social media, but fewer are aware of the amount of cyberbullying that takes place in group chats among elementary school students or the vulnerability of in-game chats in online video games.

“Another important thing to consider is opportunity cost,” Trombley said. “When our kids get so wrapped up in texting or anything that they’re doing online, they’re missing out on what’s happening in the real world. They are missing out on being with their friends in real life, being outside, being in nature.”

Attendees got realistic and actionable information about how to manage their children’s access and keep them safe online. Trombley emphasized that she wasn’t there to tell parents that they should never allow their children to engage in digital communication; it is an inevitable and powerful tool. Instead, she shared her insights about when to introduce children to what types of digital communication and what devices and apps have features that can be used to limit and monitor engagement.

“If you’re thinking about letting your kid on social media, my best advice is to start slowly. Start with one app and start with it on your phone,” Trombley continued. “This will allow you to see how it’s being used, how frequently notifications are coming in and what parts of the app they really care about. Then, when you transfer it over to their advice, you have to use the parental controls.”

Not all devices are made equal. Trombley showed attendees how various devices have more or less options for parents to manage access. She also shared recommendations for a number of third party apps that can be used to fill in the gaps in parental control options left by built-in software. 

Much of Trombley’s advice came from real experiences with her own children, including her recommendation for texting policies at home.

“We call this the ‘Open and Notorious’ policy in my house,” she said. “All texting happens in public spaces at home, not in bedrooms. I need to be able to wander into the room and they need to know that I might wander into the room and hear or see what they’re doing. That’s really important for kids so when something’s happening, they think ‘my mom might see this, maybe this isn’t such a good idea.’”

Throughout the presentation, Trombley fielded questions from her fellow parents about their own struggles with managing digital communication with their children. She shared the challenges she experienced in her own home and gave tailored advice based on her experiences and research.