Keep Your Kids #CyberSafe This Summer

I’ve mentioned before that the Boys and Girls Club of America (BGCA) was very involved with the school I taught at back in New Hampshire.  I was always impressed with the support they offered my students many of whom were from single parent homes that often were economically unstable.  Watching the impact the BGCA had on “my kids” earned them a permanent place in my heart.

I love that BGCA is again offering their support to kids, this time in conjunction with National Internet Safety Month which is June.  LJ has recently started using the internet more and often wants to do internet searches and watch YouTube videos (mainly Minecraft tutorials).  Knowing what kinds of things are out there, this is not something I take lightly.  We have set up rules about online time including that his door must remain open (I can see his laptop screen from the door) and have set up some safe searching parameters on his laptop.

These days, kids have access to the internet from multiple devices. I know in our house, we not only have multiple computers and laptops, but also an Xbox, internet enabled TVs, a Nintendo DS, and Apple devices that can all access the web.  We have not yet had to deal with cyber-bullying in second grade, but I know it’s not far away.  Statistics like “one in three kids deals with cyber bullying” is very scary, especially when you can see the devastating effects it has had on some kids’ lives.

Monitoring what kids are doing online can be tricky, especially for parents who might not be particularly tech-savvy themselves.  In fact, one in three parents believe their teens are much more tech savvy than they are. How about you??  BGCA has created a .  I did pretty well – how were your results??

If you are looking for more tips and support, BGCA has set up a very helpful website where you can learn more about how to keep your kids safe online.