I participated in an Influencer Activation Program on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for BGCA. I received a promotional item to thank me for participating.
As a blogger, I’m very aware of online safety especially for children. I’m online most of the day, every day and I read everything I can about tech news including cyber safety. Kora & Logan are getting older and are starting to get online more and more these days and it’s amazing how much they know, as well as how much they don’t, about the internet. That’s why I was excited to learn that the Boys & Girls Club of America (BGCA) has teamed up with Sprint for the Cyber Safe Futures site & the CyberTribe Q&A.
I visited the site and was very impressed with the amount of information presented in a user-friendly way. One of the most eye-opening areas includes the video series, Cyber Survivor Challenge.
This playlist of videos is set up in a game show like fashion where you learn answers to questions like, “How many teenagers have been victims of cyberbullying?”
The answers to this question are multiple choice. Let’s see if you know the answer, is it:
- 1 in 100
- 1 in 50
- 1 in 3
To find out the answer head over to the BGCA Cyber Safe Futures Initiative Site and watch the video. It’s a short, but informative and impactful clip and the answer will astound you.
Other Cyber Survivor Challenge videos include:
- Mobile Smarts
- Social Networking
- Online Privacy
As I mentioned above I believe myself to be quite savvy when it comes to Internet Safety Awareness and was very interested in taking the quiz, Are You A Cyber Smart Parent?
While Kora & Logan are still young and many questions in this quiz don’t apply to them yet I found them to be very insightful and thought-provoking questions. I recommend anyone with a preteen or older child take the quiz to determine your cyber safety skills.
Whether your quiz results suggest your cyber smart parenting needs a little help or not, be sure to check out the valuable Cyber Safety Resources available on the site as well.
Here you can find situational based questions that ask, “What Would You Do?” After answering what you would do in response to the situation, you can read information, advice, check out tips for parents about the topic, subject related discussion cards, & links to more resource.
The questions are great and really make you think. As a parent it’s good to go through these exercises so you know how to handle these moments if and when they occur.
I also really like that you can Ask The CyberTribe any of your questions as well.
The CyberTribe is a group of expert teens who are ready to answer your cyber safety questions. You can ask them things like, “What are the most popular social networks that my teen may be on and what should I look out for?” and “How can I detect if my son’s being cyberbullied?”
I wanted to give the Ask The CyberTribe a try so I asked them, “What is a safe but high quality internet browser for kids?”
This question skewed young since my two are only 7 & 8 so I’ve been waiting a bit for an answer but as soon as I get one I’ll update the post with what they say. I’m sure it will be very helpful.
I was also excited to learn that since June is Internet Safety Awareness Month the BGCA celebrating by entering everyone who submits a question to the CyberTribe into a raffle to win one of three grand prizes including:
- An iPad Mini
- $500 to the BGCA Club of your choice
Isn’t that great? Head on over to the BGCA Cyber Safe Futures site and ask your question today to learn more about cyber safety and to enter to win!
What about you? What concerns you about kids and cyber safety?
