I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Boys & Girls Clubs of America. I received a promotional item as a thank you for participating.
As a tech blogger, every day I receive emails about products designed to make the internet safer for children. These emails are often filled with scary, but true stories. Not only are these emails eye-opening but as blogger, I feel I have a good grasp of the importance of internet safety and I’m always looking for good resources to share with others. That’s why I am excited to partner with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America to share with you their Cyber Safe Futures website.
The site is wonderful because it is designed to help parents and guardians keep the children in their lives safe online. When you first visit the site there is a Cyber Survivor Challenge.
Answer seven questions and read the tips about cyber safety and then share your results on your social media sites to be entered to win an iPad Mini and a $500 Visa Gift Card to the Boys & Girls Club of your choice.
I took the quiz and was happy to see that I’m a Cyber Survivor. I watched the Cyberbullying video and was amazed to learn that 1 in 3 teens have been cyberbullied and only 7% of parents are concerned about cyberbullying. That is frightening and eye-opening. Even though my score on the quiz rated me a Cyber Survivor I have to admit I did not know these stats. It makes me even more aware of the importance of internet safety and thankful for sites like this that provide facts, tips, and resources.
Under the Cyberbullying tab there are helpful and important tips for parents about cyberbullying which sadly is far too rampant these days. The Mobile Smarts tab gives parents tips on mobile technology and cell phone use. The Social Networks tab offers advice for monitoring your child’s social network sites particularly Facebook. The Online Privacy tab includes tips about how to talk with your child about what is safe to share online and password security.
I like that there are downloadable discussion cards available to help start off conversations with your child. It may be tough for some parents to know where to begin these conversations and this site has done a wonderful job making it easier.
There is also a long list of resources on the site as well where you can learn more about various topics. There’s even a link to a game for kids and tweens as well as a poster and activities for parents of children ages 5-9 years old.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of America have done a fantastic job with this the Cyber Safety Futures site and because June is Internet Safety Month it’s the perfect time to click over and check it out.
