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.
My daughter will be turning ten years old this summer. My husband and I really worry about the approaching teen years and how to keep her safe. In this day and age things are so much more different from when we were growing up. Now as a parent we have to worry about cyberbullying, online privacy, and data sharing especially on social networks. For instance, the other day my daughter was playing an online game on the computer. I didn't realize that it was a game that other kids could chat with her. A while later she came into my room in tears that some other girls on the game were calling her screen name stupid and saying that he character was ugly. I felt terrible for her and now I am much more careful about the games that she can play. That was just my first taste of cyberbullying and really brought my attention to the importance of Internet safety for my kids.
Recently I was introduced to a site that can help prepare us parents for the tough road ahead with Internet Safety. The Boys & Girls Club of America and Sprint have teamed up to offer us some great advice on how to keep our kids from being bullied and tips for keeping them safer in this social media age. Although I haven't allowed my 10 year old to open a Facebook page and the fact that Facebook doesn't allow kids under the age of 13 to create a Facebook page, over 5 million Facebook accounts are of children under the age of 10! My daughter has asked to create a Facebook page because some of her friends have them, but I have refused. I just think she is too young and I don't think it's appropriate right now. Many of her friends also have cell phones. I don't think that's necessary yet either. I will allow her to have a cell phone when I am not with her at extracurricular activities in the future. However I think the age of 10 is still a little young.
I took the "Are you a Cyber Smart Parent" Quiz on the Cyber Safe page and my eyes were opened to many things that I need to consider speaking to my daughter about before allowing her to use social media. One of the main things I worry about is cyberbullying. Although I can't protect her from everything and everyone, I want to make sure she knows that her father and I are always here for her to come to when she has a problem. Kids can be mean! I also want to make sure she knows that cyberbullying is wrong and let her know that it is NOT okay to do that to another person.
I learned some scary facts while exploring the BGCA CyberSafe Site. Did you know that 1 in 30 teens is cyberbullied on social media sites? Another scary fact is that the average teen sends and receives an average of more than 1,000 texts per month. With that large amount of texting, you better believe some bullying is going on. 1 out of 4 teens are bullied or harassed by text message! It's important that we as parents talk to our teens about this and let them know that they aren't alone and that bullying IS NOT okay. You will find a wealth of information on the BGCA CyberSafe Site. I urge you to check it out so that your are armed with all of the facts before you talk to your teen.
You can submit your own questions to the teens on the CyberTribe. I had some questions of my own and was happy to submit them to the teens who know first hand about growing up in the digital age. When you submit your questions you can also be entered to win an iPad mini!
To submit your questions to the CyberTribe:
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
I took the "Are you a Cyber Smart Parent" Quiz on the Cyber Safe page and my eyes were opened to many things that I need to consider speaking to my daughter about before allowing her to use social media. One of the main things I worry about is cyberbullying. Although I can't protect her from everything and everyone, I want to make sure she knows that her father and I are always here for her to come to when she has a problem. Kids can be mean! I also want to make sure she knows that cyberbullying is wrong and let her know that it is NOT okay to do that to another person.
I learned some scary facts while exploring the BGCA CyberSafe Site. Did you know that 1 in 30 teens is cyberbullied on social media sites? Another scary fact is that the average teen sends and receives an average of more than 1,000 texts per month. With that large amount of texting, you better believe some bullying is going on. 1 out of 4 teens are bullied or harassed by text message! It's important that we as parents talk to our teens about this and let them know that they aren't alone and that bullying IS NOT okay. You will find a wealth of information on the BGCA CyberSafe Site. I urge you to check it out so that your are armed with all of the facts before you talk to your teen.
You can submit your own questions to the teens on the CyberTribe. I had some questions of my own and was happy to submit them to the teens who know first hand about growing up in the digital age. When you submit your questions you can also be entered to win an iPad mini!
To submit your questions to the CyberTribe:
- 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
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
1 comment:
What sad and scary statistics on cyber bullying. Hopefully this never happens but great to know there is a site that can get your children ready for adventuring out into the cyber world when they and you are ready.
Post a Comment