thoughts from teenangels....

Heard in Rye Speaker Series September 12, 2006
Reflections of Kate Coloabella and Gianna Curcio


We as Teenangels (Kate and Gianna) attended Parry Aftab’s seminar in Rye, NY. The Seminar was held for parents who wanted to know more on how to protect their children from the dangers of the Internet. The session began with Ms. Aftab speaking about the developments of Wired Safety and her many other organizations including Teenangels, Tweenangels and her upcoming Wired Moms. Parry Aftab further enlightened the parents on the programs’ policies and views on keeping the internet safe. She advised the group on how to better their child-parent communication, concerning the risks that they might face. All of the crucial points that Ms. Aftab touched on were presented in a slideshow that she created. In the time remaining, the parents had a chance to pose their individual questions for Parry to answer.
We as Teenangels found the seminar to be an interesting and enjoyable experience.
Being that this was our first, certain things came as a surprise to us.
Before the discussion, we knew of only three social networking sites (MySpace, Facebook, Xanga) but, we soon discovered just how wrong we were. When Parry spoke on the subject, the list seemed to go on forever! Also, when the parents were sharing their own experiences with their children on the Internet, we came to find that some knew a lot while others seemed clueless.
From the very beginning of the session one could tell that Parry possessed a certain ease that made her easy to talk to and understand. She was so passionate in her views that the listener could tell that she was definitely in the know. Parry was able to hold the attention of the room, keeping it fun, while discussing serious issues.
Above all, we felt great representing Teenangels worldwide! It was an honor to be recognized as we stood beside Parry Aftab in teaching parents the facts on Internet safety!!