It's a rite of passage for parents of tweens: By the time your child is 10 or 12, she decides that she must have a cell phone, because if she can't text and talk to her friends her social life will be "ruined."

Do you need parental controls? What are the options? Do they really work? Here's everything you need to know about the wide array of parental control solutions, from OS settings to monitoring apps to network hardware. Advice from Common Sense Media editors.

It's far too easy for kids to assume that private online communication stays private. It feels intimate, and sharing intimate details is one way we build close relationships with friends and love interests, which is part of the developmental work of adolescence.

The vast majority of children and adolescents in the United States play video games. Although many children play them in moderation, without adverse consequences, others become obsessed with gaming. Parents may become worried when a child is neglecting homework to play games, or is staying up all night gaming and is too tired to get up for school the next day.

What You Need to Know About Drugs on Social Media Kids used to have limited options for where they could get drugs: friends at school, medicine cabinets or on the street. Now they don't even have to leave the house. Buying drugs online has become increasingly popular and drug dealers are targeting kids on social media.

Drug dealers are targeting teens and young adults on social media. Get social media safety tips, learn how to identify a legitimate online pharmacy and find out which emojis signal trouble.  

Local Resources & Support The Gender Diversity & Resilience Program serves transgender and gender expansive youth ages 12-18 and their families. Find Gay Straight Alliance contacts and resources on this website created by the LGBTQ+ Task Force Additional Resources