With technology so prevalent in our lives (kids getting smart phones on average at 7.5 years old and tablets at 5.5 years old), how do we teach our children to have a healthy relationship with technology?

Stephen Balkam, Founder of the Family Only Safety Institute, answers important questions before exposing your kids to today’s technology-heavy society.

Verizon Smart Family is the new and improved version of FamilyBase and is a great way to safely give your kids a cell phone.

The new Verizon Smart Family gives you:

– Content Filtering
– Call, text and purchase limits
– Manage data targets

With the Verizon Smart Family Premium option, you can also view location.

What it costs:

– Verizon Smart Family $4.99/mo per account
– Verizon Smart Family Premium $9.99/mo per account. Try it free for 1 month

For additional information, go to https://www.fosi.org, or read Stephen’s blog post on Verizon Smart Family: http://www.verizon.com/about/news/keep-track-kids-limit-screen-time-and-block-inappropriate-content-verizon-smart-family. 

Stephen Balkam is the founder and CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI), an international, nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. FOSI’s mission is to make the online world safer for kids and their families. FOSI convenes the top thinkers and practitioners in government, industry and the nonprofit sectors to collaborate and innovate and to create a “culture of responsibility” in the online world.  Stephen also served on the U.S. Child Online Protection Commission (COPA) in 2000. He writes regularly for the Huffington Post, appears often on TV and has appeared on nationally syndicated TV and radio programs such as MSNBC, CNN, NPR and the BBC and has been interviewed by leading newspapers such as the Washington Post, New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.