Local Social Media Company Offers Course for Parents of Tweens

You've bought all the No. 2 pencils, the folders and those expensive calculators: the kids are ready for the 2012-13 school year, right?

However, according to the Birmingham-based Hay There Social Media, a social media marketing company, parents often forget to equip their tweens — and themselves — with the tips they need to navigate the social media universe.

To help parents cope and learn more about Facebook, Twitter and more, Hay There Social Media is currently offering "Saving Face for Parents of Tweens," a series of digital classes aimed at helping teens and tweens make tech-saavy decisions.

Typically, Hay There Social Media offers social media consulting advice for businesses. However, according to the company's founder, many of their clients were also turning to them for parenting advice.

"We kept hearing from our clients that in addiiton to social media information to grow their businesses, they needed social media information to guide their tweens," said Emily Hay, founder of Hay There Social Media. "Clearly, your child's online personal is a priceless asset."

"Saving Face for Parents of Tweens" is made up of seven online video classes with corresponding handouts, homework assignments and action lists. Parents can purchase online access to the class for $47 by visiting www.haytheresocialmedia.com/savingface.

The course originated as . During that session, Hay reviewed social media rules and guidelines, best practices, privacy settings and ways to use social media on mobile devices.

Sheri Watkins is Hay There Social Media's social media manager and content creator.

"As the parent of a preschooler and a high school-aged child, I know that it's never too early to prepare your children for safe social media use," she said. "With colleges and future employers exploring and judging our children based on who they are online, parents need to get ahead of their kids to ensure they are using social media productively."

According to a 2011 , a 2011 survey of admission officers at 359 colleges and universities by Kaplan Test Prep showed that 24 percent of admission officers use Facebook to learn more about prospective students — up from 10 percent in 2008.

"Keep in mind that it has always been important to use caution when writing anything, whether it is hand scribbled on a piece of paper, typed from your computer, texted from your cell phone or posted on Facebook from your iPad or another type of tablet," Lifton commented.

"It has always been important to use caution when writing anything, whether it is hand scribbled on a piece of paper, typed from your computer, texted from your cell phone or posted on Facebook from your iPad or another type of tablet," she added.