A must-listen. Meet co-authors Jean Rogers & Pat Cantor – Screen Aware Early Childhood. This new book outlines what parents, grandparents & educators need to help kids thrive in this overwhelming digital world.
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11-13 AI Toys Are Here Just in Time for the Holidays! Trouble in Toyland 2025: A.I. Bots and Toxics Present Hidden Dangers
The biggest dangers with toys used to be choking hazards and lead. This year, we mark U.S. PIRG Education Fund’s 40th Trouble in Toyland report. We’re thankful that toys overall are much safer than they were in decades past.
But problems such as choking hazards and lead in toys still exist and we have new, sometimes more alarming issues: Toys that are powered by artificial intelligence that say the darndest (and sometimes quite inappropriate) things, as well as toys shipped from overseas that still too often contain toxics.
In this year’s Trouble in Toyland report, we focus on:
- Our testing of four toys that contain A.I. chatbots and interact with children. We found some of these toys will talk in-depth about sexually explicit topics, will offer advice on where a child can find matches or knives, act dismayed when you say you have to leave, and have limited or no parental controls. We also look at privacy concerns because these toys can record a child’s voice and collect other sensitive data, by methods such as facial recognition scans.
- Toys that contain toxics such as lead and phthalates, which can be incredibly harmful to children.
- Counterfeit toys that are illegal and almost surely weren’t tested for safety, including fake Labubu dolls that have been confiscated by the thousands this year.
- Water beads, which have injured thousands of children over the They will finally have some restrictions when marketed as toys.
- Recalled toys, which we bought again this year, even though it’s illegal for anyone to sell them.
- Toys that contain button cell batteries or high-powered magnets, both which can be deadly if swallowed.
11-12 Texas AG Ken Paxton Sues Roblox, Alleging it is ‘Digital Playground for Predators’
Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the gaming platform Roblox, alleging that it ignored federal and state safety laws while deceiving parents of the potential dangers of the platform.
Roblox is known for its immersive gaming platform, where users can develop their own games and communicate using avatars. About 40% of its 151.5 million users are children under the age of 13, according to Roblox’s quarterly report.
Despite being marketed toward kids, Paxton described the platform as “overrun by predators and saturated with sexual content.” The lawsuit alleges that the gaming platform exploited, groomed and exposed children to sexually explicit content.
11-11 Teacher’s Worst Fears Confirmed When Struggling Students Suddenly Started Submitting A-Grade Papers
A Los Angeles high school English teacher’s routine grading session took a shocking turn when his lowest-performing students began turning in flawless A-grade essays – all at once.
Dustin Stevenson’s suspicions were soon confirmed after one of his students revealed the secret.
The culprit wasn’t an underground website or a secret group chat but Google Lens, a tool embedded directly into every student’s school-issued Chromebook.
Students simply hover over a test or essay question and instantly receive AI-generated answers – all without switching tabs or typing a single word.
‘I couldn’t believe it,’ Stevenson said Mercury News. ‘It’s hard enough to teach in the age of AI, and now we have to navigate this?’
For Stevenson and other educators across the country, the discovery marks a turning point in what they describe as an escalating battle against invisible academic dishonesty.
What began as a tool to identify plants or translate signs had become an academic disruptor.
The latest version of Lens allows a floating AI ‘bubble’ to appear on screen, scanning and interpreting anything within its range.
11-10 PARENT WARNING. Keep Your Kids Off Of ROBLOX AND DISCORD. Here’s Why.
Florida authorities recently arrested a man accused of soliciting a child through the popular gaming platform Roblox.
The arrest was announced by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) on Nov. 7.
The suspect, Brandon Rodriguez-Silva, 20, of San Jose, California, has been charged with transmitting material harmful to minors by electronic device and soliciting a child for unlawful sexual conduct using a computer service or device.
According to authorities, Rodriguez-Silva allegedly engaged the Florida child on Roblox and encouraged them to move to the messaging app Discord before eventually swapping cellphone numbers.
ROBLOX CEO INSISTS PLATFORM IS SAFE FOR CHILDREN DESPITE LAWSUITS OVER ONLINE PREDATORS
11-09 A Mother’s Story: Maurine Molak Shares Her Heartbreak About Her Beautiful Son, David.
WARNING. Sensitive discussion. Did you know that cyberbullying can kill?
Please listen to one mom’s journey from pain to purpose.
Maurine Molak is a true WARRIOR.
M
11-08 FREE RESOURCE: Online Harms Prevention Action Kit from FairPlay’s Screen Time Action Network
The Online Harms Prevention Action Kit was brought to you by Fairplay’s Screen Time Action Network. Our Screen Time Action Network is a coalition of practitioners, educators, advocates, and parents working to promote a healthy childhood by reducing the amount of time kids spend with digital devices. Membership to our network is free. Join todayto become a part of our community!
11-07 Friday Follow: NCOSE Says Congress Must Pass Kids Online Safety Act
WASHINGTON, DC – The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) commended the Senate for reintroducing the Kids Online Safety Act, which overwhelmingly passed the Senate 91-3 last year. Apple has also signed on in support.
“Every day, children are exposed to harms online, targeted with sextortion threats, groomed by predators, fed dangerous content. Kids are dying while Big Tech avoids all accountability. It’s beyond time for Kids Online Safety Act!” said Dr. Marcel van der Watt, president, National Center on Sexual Exploitation. “It is time for Congress to stand with our nation’s families by enacting online protections for children.”
The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) creates accountability for tech platforms to keep children safe online by: establishing a legally actionable Duty of Care for platforms that are likely to be used by minors—meaning they must responsibly design their products to ensure children are protected; and requiring platforms provide safeguards for children and tools for parents to protect children and youth from harmful content and predatory behavior.
About National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE)
Founded in 1962, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) is the leading national non-profit organization exposing the links between all forms of sexual exploitation such as child sexual abuse, prostitution, sex trafficking and the public health harms of pornography.
11-06 LYNN’S WARRIORS STATEMENT ON NEW YORK CITY MAYOR-ELECT ZOHRAN MAMDANI
Lynn’s Warriors applauds the spirit of civic engagement and welcomes every opportunity to make New York a safer city for children, families and survivors of exploitation. But we cannot stay silent as proposals emerge that would fully decriminalize the sex trade. This move that would dismantle hard-won human-trafficking laws and place countless vulnerable New Yorkers at risk.
While we support ending the wrongful arrests and criminalization of those exploited in prostitution, we reject any policy that protects pimps, brothel owners or sex buyers. Decriminalization is not progress, it’s regression. It opens the door to brothels near schools, solicitation on our streets and organized crime thriving under a legal disguise.
Across the world, the evidence is clear: when prostitution is normalized, trafficking rises, violence increases and predators profit. The sex trade does not empower women or marginalized communities but exploits them.
“Exploitation is not empowerment. It’s survival in a system that has already failed too many,” said Lynn Shaw, founder of Lynn’s Warriors. “Children and vulnerable people will always be the first victims when profit and permissiveness replace protection and prevention.”
Lynn’s Warriors calls on Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani and all city leaders to stand firmly against any effort to legalize or sanitize commercial sexual exploitation. Instead, we urge investment in trauma-informed recovery services, education, housing and employment programs that give survivors real choices — not legalized abuse.
New York must lead with integrity, compassion and courage. We can be a city of equality and safety but never if we turn our backs on those still trapped in cycles of violence and exploitation.
Lynn’s Warriors will continue to fight for prevention, awareness and accountability because protecting our children and our communities is not negotiable.
11-05 Join the Warriors to Support Responsible Tech Innovation for Kids
Lawmakers introduced two bipartisan bills — the Open App Markets Act, introduced by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and the App Store Freedom Act, introduced by Reps. Lori Trahan (D-MA) and Kat Cammack (R-FL) — that would push back on Big Tech’s monopoly over our app marketplace.
If passed, they could ensure that everyone can access innovative apps that put our privacy, safety, and well-being first.
Show lawmakers that we want to see the Open App Markets Act and the App Store Freedom Act passed. Sign on now.
Thank you. #BeAWarrior
Recent Posts
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11-14 A Must-Listen. Screen-Aware Early Childhood – Meet Jean Rogers and Pat Cantor
-
11-13 AI Toys Are Here Just in Time for the Holidays! Trouble in Toyland 2025: A.I. Bots and Toxics Present Hidden Dangers
-
11-12 Texas AG Ken Paxton Sues Roblox, Alleging it is ‘Digital Playground for Predators’
-
11-11 Teacher’s Worst Fears Confirmed When Struggling Students Suddenly Started Submitting A-Grade Papers
-
11-10 PARENT WARNING. Keep Your Kids Off Of ROBLOX AND DISCORD. Here’s Why.
Recent posts
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11-14 A Must-Listen. Screen-Aware Early Childhood – Meet Jean Rogers and Pat Cantor November 14, 2025
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11-13 AI Toys Are Here Just in Time for the Holidays! Trouble in Toyland 2025: A.I. Bots and Toxics Present Hidden Dangers November 13, 2025
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11-12 Texas AG Ken Paxton Sues Roblox, Alleging it is ‘Digital Playground for Predators’ November 12, 2025