Parents , POAT How To Equip Your Kids For School (NAPSA)—TIf yours is like most American families with kids in school, you'll spend over $600 on clothes, shoes, supplies and electronics this year. Total U.S. spending on back-to-school is expected to be about $27 billion, reports the National Retail Federation. Smart Supply Shopping Here are a few hints to help you get the most for your money. *First, shop at home. Look through desks, drawers and clos- ets. Chances are, someof the stuff your kids got last year can still be used this year. Also, before you shop, try to find out which supplies the school requires. Depending on yourchild’s grade, this will probably include pens, pencils, markers, highlighters, erasers, rulers, notebooks, loose-leaf paper, scratch paper, binders, calculators, crayons and other art supplies. Also, a backpack to put it all in. Look for one with reflective material, a padded back and multiple compartments. *Next, consider electronics. A laptop or a tablet might be a good idea; which device depends in part on whetherit’s for productivity or for consumption. Tablets are typically used to browse, watch and consumecontent. A laptop is used to create and produce, though there is some crossover. Make sure your child understands the school’s policy on Internet use and communication and reinforce it at home. You should also see if the school provides any electronic equipment. If, say, tablets are used in the classroom you may want to get the same kind for use at home, or a laptop that’s completely different. Consider getting accidental If you get your children laptops or tablets this school year, it’s wise to protect them from malware. damage insurance. As AVG security analyst Tony Anscombe points out, kids tend to drop or damagestuff. You should also protect the device from hacking and viruses. One good way to do so is with one of three protection packages from AVG. AntiVirus Free—which is free—offers AntiVirus to help protect against viruses, spyware and other malware; Link Protection to scan Web, Twitter and Facebook links; and Email Protection to warn of malicious attachments. For a bit more, there’s an AntiVirus that does all that plus protects against harmful downloads with Online Shield; encrypts and password-protects private files with Data Safe; and provides automatic security updates. For a little more, you can also get AntiSpam to keep your in-box free of spam and scams and an enhanced firewall so your kid can browse online with greater safety. Whatever device you get, make sure your kids understand one core principle: If you wouldn’t say it off-line, don’t say it online. Learn More For further facts on online security, go to www.avg.com.
