“I participated in an Influencer Activation Program on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for BGCA. I received a promotional item and Whish Body samples to facilitate my review.”
Online safety is something we take very seriously at our home. I am always talking to my kids about online etiquette. I’m always reminding them “Don’t ever type anything online that you wouldn’t say right to that persons face”. We are always talking about NEVER sharing personal information online like address, phone #, full name, and other sensitive information or pictures.
I try to limit my kids time online also and require that they do other things around the house and outside before they can use their devices. I know without these conversations my kids wouldn’t know what is expected of them. They are still too young to understand the consequences their online actions can have on their lives.
I’m slowly learning how much of a hold social media has on our kids. It’s really sad to see kids walking around all over the place with their faces buried in their phones. Here are some scary statistics I’ve learned recently:
- Did you know . . . 1 in 3 kids are cyber bullied, the average teen sends 1,600 texts a MONTH, and 1 out of 4 teens are bullied or harassed through text messages and/or phone calls?
- 43% of teens reported they have posted something online that they later regret and 80% of teens have witnessed cruel behavior on social media.
- The legal age of facebook users is 13, do you know how many are 10 an younger? More than 5 MILLION!! Can you believe it? Wow~! And their accounts are generally not supervised by parents.
- The average teen spends about 5 hours a day online when most parents think they are only spending 2 hours a day online.
- More than 50% of teens have given out personal information to people they meet online that they don’t know in real life.
All of these facts scare me to death and I hope they scare you too! Sometimes parents need their eyes opened and get scared a little bit before they have real conversations with their kids.
Where did I get all these facts? CyberTribe from the Girls & Boys Club of America. This web site from the CyberTribe is full of resources for parents, tweens and teens. What’s even better? They have an “Ask the CyberTribe” section where parents and teens can ask questions they have about online safety. When you are done asking your question, you are entered to win an iPad mini and $500 to the Girls & Boys Club of your choice.
Here are instructions on how to ask your question and get entered to win:
- Visit the BGCA CyberSafe site
- Visit the “Ask the CyberTribe” tab
- Click “Ask now”
- Write in your question, fill out your information (First Name, Last initial, City, and State)
- Click “Submit”
- After hitting submit you will be given the change to enter the CyberSafe Futures Giveaway.
They also have a parent quiz so you can test your thoughts about online safety for your children. When you are done taking the quiz, there is a key which explains why your answers are right or wrong. You can take the CyberSmart Parent Quiz Here.
You can read through everyone’s questions and get answers from the expert teens they have helping them out.
I hope every parent takes online safety seriously and makes it a #1 priority this week. Will you join me in making the online world a safe place for our kids?
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