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Friday, January 10, 2020 7 Brooklin Town Crier Community Calendar Sun., Jan. 26: 7:30-9 pm: Trivia Night At MichaelKelly's Eatery on Winchester and St. Thomas $20 per person cash only. Teams of 4-6 ONLY. Each team receives a large pizza and an order of garlic bread, with a beer per person. Winning team members each get a $10 gift certificate to MK's. Register by emailing your name and number of team members to: editorofbtc@gmail.com Capacity is 42 people, so registration is first come-first served. Hosted by the BTC with all proceeds to Prostate Cancer Canada Network (PCCN) Durham. Tues., Jan. 28: 6:30 pm: Whitby Library Archivist Megan Pugh will talk at the Brooklin branch Library on how to find historical information at the Archives. This event is co-hosted by the Brooklin Heritage Society and the Brooklin Library Tues., Jan. 28: 6:30-7:30 pm (4th Tuesday of each month) Teen Advisory Group at Brooklin Library Whitby Library's Brooklin Branch seeks Teen Advisory Group members to share ideas, and assist with special events and programs. Grade 7-12 students earn community service hours. No registration required. For information, email: teenservices@whitbylibrary.ca Tuesdays: 7:25 pm: Brooklin Toastmasters Club Practice public speaking at Brooklin Community Centre & Library. Contact John Johnstone at jajhj@sympatico.ca or phone 905-683-4439 or Elaine Goulbourne 289-404-8527 at elainegoulbourne@rogers.com 1st, 2nd & 3rd Tuesdays Community Care Durham (CCD) Basic Foot Care at St. Thomas' Anglican Church. 905-430-5732 Mon.-Fri. CCD delivers hot or frozen meals. To order: Karen Andrews 905-668-6779 French Family Storytime: Children and their caregivers can join Madame Sue for weekly French Family Storytime! A half hour of French stories and songs, with a dash of English! Drop in at Central Library's Children's Program Room If you have a community not-for-profit event you would like included in the calendar, please email it to editorofBTC@gmail.com with the subject line "calendar." Priority will be given to Brooklin events. Some editing may occur. TikTok - What You Need to Know Our Brooklin Kids By Leanne Brown TikTok is a social media app that allows users to share short videos with friends, family or even the world. The videos range from funny sketches to lip syncs with special effects. The app actually began three years ago as a lip-syncing site called Musical.ly. In 2018, it was acquired by a Bejing-based company and became TikTok. With 1.4 billion downloads, TikTok is the hottest social media site for tweens and teens. Through the app, kids have found a way to express themselves and build communities around their passions. It also has impressive special effects. Its users post content created in TikTok on other platforms to share with more people. However, TikTok's content includes much more than just a modern version of karaoke or clips designed to elicit laughs or shock. It's also trouble. What your kids are getting into might surprise you. From inappropriate content to data security issues, here's what you need to know, along with safety measures to take. Targeted by predators TikTok encourages kids to show off their talents which, for those who like to perform, is heaven. However, this makes it easy for predators to compliment them as a way to get to know them. Predators attempt to make them feel special while getting them to let their guards down. For example, the app features a 'duets' capability which allows you to remix another user's video and lip sync or dance alongside them in a new clip. This has been exploited by sexual predators lurking on the app and use this feature to send explicit messages. Inappropriate content Even if your child's account is set to private, they may still be exposed to sexual or violent content posted to the public feed. My daughter has on occasion shown me content that makes her uncomfortable, such as racist and discriminatory commentary, as well as dangerous stunts kids may try to recreate. Not to mention sexually explicit videos that required a strong conversation on my part. Impact mental health TikTok provides a creative outlet where users can use the "Reactions" feature to respond to videos they like with their own takes on them. This may be fine for tinkering with artistic creativity, but it can cause anxiety if their creative expression is met with criticism. Kids feel the pressure to create more and better content. As they chase that popularity by taking part in (often dangerous) challenges, their self-worth is impacted. What's more, TikTok can be a vehicle for cyberbullying. A video that isn't 'liked" can provide bullies with material that can be shared over and over. Some users create multiple accounts, using fake names to target others they don't like. TikTok users often share personal situations. Not only are these videos disturbing but comments might also encourage self-harm. Some users have even been publicly encouraged to attempt suicide. Privacy concerns Last year, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission fined Tik-Tok $5.7 million for violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) in the largest civil penalty in a children's privacy case in history. American companies are required by law to obtain parental consent to collect the data of kids under 13. TikTok failed to do this and to notify parents of exactly how they collected children's data. TikTok also did not allow parents to ask to have that data deleted. Necessary safety settings TikTok has since addressed privacy and security by making it easier to manage settings. In your child's profile, you'll see three dots in the upper right-hand corner of the screen, which will take you to the 'Privacy and settings' section of the app. There you'll see the option to set the account to "private" which will prevent others from finding them unless you know the user names. Also under the "Safety" section, you can customize who can: post comments, 'Duet' with your child, react to their videos, send them messages, and view videos they liked. The app is meant for kids 13 or older. Still, some might set up their accounts with a fake age to appear older than they are and this makes it more likely they'll be exposed to unsuitable content. In the 'Privacy and settings' screen, turn on the Digital Well-being setting. This offers a passcode-enabled screen time management system as well as a restricted mode to limit inappropriate content. Knowledge is power You need to fully understand the app and ask your child about what they're seeing or posting on it. Remember: this becomes their digital footprint and it will follow them into adulthood. Happy New Year! For many, the new year is a time to set new goals, resolutions, or to get back on track from a busy Christmas season. If you're considering adding more plant-based foods to your diet in the new year, this column is for you. Interest in plant-based eating is on the rise. Some of the reasons are health-related, environmental or for the love of animals. There are different ways to start a plant-based lifestyle, such as slowly eliminating meat from some meals or giving up all animal products altogether. I've seen people be successful at both. Whichever way you choose, I suggest having a few meal plans and easy recipes ready along with prepping some staples. It's going to seem hard at times, but hang in there as I have personally experienced many benefits to being plantbased. Online offerings You may need support and there are different ways to get the help you need. For instance, there are online meal planning programs that plan menus around the foods you like. They even make grocery lists. In larger urban centres, you can have your ingredients delivered right to your door. These services are inexpensive and provide you with creative ideas to use long after you decide to end your subscription. Along the same lines are meal delivery services where meal recipes and all the required ingredients to make them are delivered to your home. All you have to do is open and prepare. No planning is required. Consider these types of services since life can be busy with work, family, and extracurricular activities. Health coaches and nutritionists are another great way to get started as they can offer moral support and sound advice. If local, they can take you on a grocery tour, and come to your home to see what's in your cupboards. Seek support Most importantly, it's okay to need support. Many of the successful people I know have used nutritionists or health coaches. They like accountability and having someone guide them at the beginning of their journey. Give yourself permission to de-stress your life and reach out for help. From the Oh She Glows blog, comes this "Back on Track" smoothie recipe. It's a fresh-lasting smoothie that will energize you and is full of good stuff. Ingredients: 1 cup kale 1 large Gala apple (or other sweet apple), roughly chopped 1 English cucumber, peeled and roughly chopped 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice 1 tsp fresh grated ginger 1/2 tbsp coconut oil Maple syrup, to taste (I used 1/2 tbsp or so) 4-5 Ice cubes Protein powder, optional Place all ingredients, except maple syrup and ice, into a high-speed blender and blend on high until very smooth. Mix in ice and maple syrup to taste. Sheree's hack: Use frozen kale so it breaks down better in the smoothie. Plant-Based Eating by Sheree Nicholson New Year = New Eating Goals