The following content is created in consultation with the San Diego Police Foundation. It does not reflect the work or opinions of NBC San Diego's editorial staff. To learn more about the San Diego Police Foundation and their SafetyNet® program, visit sdpolicefoundation.org

The 2014-2015 school year is upon us.  Kids are feeling hopeful, excited, dread, fear and most likely, some combination of all of these emotions.  As adults, we like to think the most important thing about school is learning and academic success.  Most of us have tried to forget the complex social divisions of the school yard, fraught with land mines where one wrong move could lead to being ostracized for the rest of the year -- or longer.

Acceptance by peers and being part of the group are two of the most important aspects of life at school for many kids.  This is especially true in middle school when tweens and teens are starting to break away from their families and define themselves -- surfer, gangster, miss perfect, jock, theater geek, the list of stereotypes goes on and on.  Middle school is the time when what your peer group thinks of you is paramount.  

Think back to your own middle school days, the evenings and the weekends afforded the break desperately needed from social pressures.  Today, our kids no longer get the evenings, weekends or holidays off from what their peers, friends, frenemies or enemies think of them.  Their whole social life at school is played out 24/7 over the Internet and on their cell phones.  

To help kids through the drama of middle school, SafetyNet® recommends that parents limit the amount of time their children spend online and on their cell phones.  There are several ways to do this:

--Charge children’s cell phones in the parent’s bedrooms at night. 

--Set the time of day the phone will automatically shut off (set up through your carrier), perhaps during school hours and at a set time each weekday evening.  

--Disable the send/receive function of photo sharing capabilities on cell phones; this allows the user to take pictures but not share them.  

--Take an active role in monitoring where kids go online, who they communicate with and make sure that kids are representing themselves in a favorable light.  

As the first generation of people to parent highly connected kids, we can’t look back as to the limits and structure our parents used with us in regard to technology usage.  We are making it up as we go along.  We can, however, borrow an old saying from our parents: Better safe than sorry!   

To learn other best practices to keep your kids safe, happy and healthy, visit Smartcyberchoices.org. You can also take charge of your childrens' online time by following the simple safety tips offered by Cox as part of their Take Charge! initiative

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