I know you have all heard of the “Cloud”. Your kids might have said things like “Oh, it’s up on the cloud” or “I’ll pull it off the cloud.” They might even turn in homework through the cloud.

Let’s be honest….how many of us really know what in the world they are talking about? How many of us picture the homework assignment floating on a white, puffy cloud amongst a pretty blue sky? Sure, you may be able to fake your way through a cocktail party conversation on the topic, but if someone called you out to explain it, I’m guessing your ship would be sunk.

So why is this post about the cloud? Good question. The main reason is to help you gain a better understanding of what our children already innately know and understand. One of my philosophies is that our job as parents is to educate ourselves about the world that our children are growing up in. If we want to guide them safely and gracefully into adulthood, then we need to understand the landscape of their world.

Here’s a little secret: You just need to know enough so that your children THINK you know more! You do not have to know more than they do in order to build your credibility with them. Actually, you do not even have to know as much as they do. You just need to be able to hold a reasonable conversation with them and many times you can learn more from them once you get them talking.

iCloud 101 Tutorial

What is it? iCloud is a storage and computing service launched by Apple in October 2011. Currently, there are 320 million users. It allows you to store your data, like music, pictures and apps on remote servers. In today’s world, we have so much data that we are using on our devices, that we run out of space. Now we can store all that data on the cloud and then download it to, or run it through, other devices.

What can we use it for? Basically it lets you access your music, photos, videos, documents, and any other data from whatever device your are using. You can access music on your iPad from your iPhone, etc. This translates into content everywhere. Anything you purchase (think iTunes, App Store, etc.) is automatically available on all your devices. You can also share photos with friends and family by creating a shared photo stream.

I remember a few years ago when I  lost my phone that had ALL my contacts and appointments in it. I was frantic not for the phone, but for the data that it contained. My husband said, “When was the last time you synced your phone?’ It had been over a year. I never took the time to sync the phone to the computer. I hated the process! Fast forward to today’s world of the cloud. Whenever your iOS device is turned on, locked and connected to a power source and WIFI, the data will be backed up to the cloud. Good bye to the idea of syncing the device, It is done for you.

Now that you have a working knowledge of the cloud, how can you initiate a conversation with your child? What better way than to talk about a current event involving the star of Hunger Games? Ask your child if she heard about Jennifer Lawrence’s nude photos being hacked and posted on line. Here is CNN’s story on it:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/01/showbiz/jennifer-lawrence-photos/

I believe that one of the best ways to talk to my kids about important topics is to find a non-threatening third party subject to talk about like this recent news story. It creates a conversation where my kids feel free to express their opinions and do not feel the need to defend themselves as it isn’t about them. It also provides living, breathing examples of what can go wrong. The conversation could go in a couple of different directions that open up some great topics for discussion.

1. Talk about the ever popular topic of how secure (never perfectly secure) the Internet really is.
2. How about the idea that once a picture is out there on the Internet, there is a risk that it will get out to an unintended and sometimes very large audience.  Once posted, always posted!
3. Why did Jennifer Lawrence have nude photos on her cloud account at all? Discuss the appropriateness of her photos that were stolen.

Just for fun, try this out tonight at the dinner table. I think you will be amazed at how easily the conversation takes off in several directions!