Text messages, photo sharing, and sexting: cell phones present new ways for kids to communicate, and new challenges for kids to stay safe. These resources are designed to help your school provide cell phone and digital communication guidance to parents in whatever format works for you: in person, through mailings, or on your website. Use them to empower your parent community with the knowledge and tools they need to guide their kids toward making safe and smart choices in their digital lives.
Handouts to download and distribute
Print these PDF tip sheets and make them available at back-to-school nights, during parent-teacher conferences, or include them in a mailing. You may also want to attach soft copies to an email newsletter or post a few on your school's web portal for parents. We ask that if you do so, please provide a link back to www.commonsense.org so parents can find more resources on our site. Click here to access tip sheets in Spanish.
Advice parents can view online
Direct parents to these articles from our parent advice area, which are rich with guidance for parents on how to manage kids' use of cell phones and online communication. We encourage you to put links to these on your website or in your email newsletter to parents.
Videos to view or download
Share these videos with parents to spark a conversation about kids' use of mobile technologies. View them from this page or download and share right from your computer.
 Tips for Safe, Smart Cell Phone Use |  Teach Kids to Text Responsibly |
 Setting Parental Controls on the iPhone |  Texting and Driving: A Killer Combination |
Discussion guides
Use these guides to help facilitate a conversation with parents about cell phones. The guides include open-ended questions as well as short vignettes designed to get parents talking about their experiences, concerns, and solutions when it comes to their kids' use of mobile technologies. For best results, show one of the parent videos before starting the conversation.
Deepen parent engagement
Take your parent education and engagement to the next level by hosting a workshop, surveying your community, and encouraging parents and kids to talk about technology together. All of these resources are available in English and Spanish from the pages linked below.
- Host a workshop to provide parents with an overview of today's media landscape and tips for raising media smart kids.
- Conduct a survey to understand parent and student experiences, concerns, and hopes when it comes to media and technology
- Distribute a Family Media Agreement to get parents and kids talking about media guidelines for their family
