⚠️ 1.2 Million Children Had Images Turned Into Deepfakes | A UNICEF report across 11 countries found that at least 1.2 million children disclosed having their photos manipulated into sexually explicit deepfakes in the past year. This equates to roughly 1 in 25 kids. Talking with students about privacy, sharing photos, and digital footprints is more important than ever. The Parent ProTech Digital Footprint series can help start those conversations.

🏫 Schools Spent $35 Billion on Classroom Tech. Now They’re Pulling Back. | According to NPR, schools in Oregon, Missouri, Utah, and Los Angeles Unified School District are scaling back classroom screen use as research continues to raise concerns about excessive screen time and child development. Utah is moving fastest, with new screen limits set to take effect this year.

🫣 Kids Are Bypassing Age Verification With a Fake Mustache | A new U.K. study found that 32% of kids ages 9-16 bypassed online age checks in just two months. The methods? Fake birthdays, borrowed logins, and drawing mustaches with make-up to fool age-estimation AI.

During the school year, your child’s school is doing a lot of the heavy lifting.

Phone bans. Content filters. Blocked apps. Device-free classrooms. Teachers and administrators are working to create safer digital environments for students. It’s working.

But here’s what most families forget: that safety net disappears over the summer.

What does your child’s digital environment look like when the final bell rings and they come home for the summer?

At school, there may be structure such as content filters, phone pouches, teachers monitoring device use. At home? It can quickly shift to hours of unsupervised access in the living room, bedroom, or wherever devices go.

☀️ Screen time doubles (or triples). Without a school schedule, kids spend significantly more time on devices and most of it is unsupervised.

☀️ New apps appear overnight. Boredom + free time = downloading whatever their friends (or the algorithms) are talking about. Many won’t be on your radar.

☀️ Online predators know the calendar. Summer is peak season for grooming attempts. Kids are online more, supervised less, and more likely to engage with strangers.

☀️ AI chatbots don't take the summer off either. 64% of teens use them, and without school structure, unsupervised AI companion conversations can escalate fast.

☀️ The habits you set NOW stick. Waiting until July is like putting on sunscreen after the sunburn.

✅ Audit their devices/apps this week - Open Snapchat and check if location sharing is on (Snap Map → Settings → Ghost Mode). Open Roblox and check if DMs are set to "Friends" or "Everyone." Open TikTok and check who they're following and whether their account is private. The Parent ProTech on-demand resources walk you through each platform.

✅ Replicate the school’s rules at home - Keep phone-free windows going over the summer. Consistency matters more than strictness.

✅ Have the summer conversation NOW - Use the conversation starters in the Parent ProTech platform before summer opens the floodgates.

✅ Lock down your home network - Your Wi-Fi is about to become their primary portal to the internet. Make sure it’s secure by checking out the Parent ProTech WiFi Basics series.

✅ Check their AI usage - Ask your child if they use ChatGPT (or Claude/Gemini), Character.ai, or any AI companion. Ask them what they talk about. The Parent ProTech AI Basics series breaks it down.

Your school worked hard to protect your kids this year. Now it’s your turn.

Start here and take back the summer. ☀️

More than 1 million new neural connections form every second in your baby’s brain. By age 3, their brain has reached 80–90% of its adult size.

That means the small, everyday moments like the peek-a-boo, the “woof woof,” the block that gets stacked, knocked down, and stacked again are literally building your child’s brain.

Parent ProTech and Turbo Babies (through the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County) teamed up to help families with children ages 0–3 understand what actually supports healthy brain development in a world full of screens.

From tuning in and taking turns to creating more meaningful everyday moments, simple interactions can have a lasting impact on your child’s development.

Watch the full video here to learn practical Turbo tips from mom and host Elicia.