There are many wonderful organizations that can come to your neighborhood school to teach the children about online safety. Occasionally I also get to make these safety presentations to kids and parent groups. There's a lot of material to cover and no matter how entertaining we try to make the information, sometimes you just have to hope the message got through. Today, I read a report that indicates these programs work!! A 14 year old boy in New Jersey was able to remember the lessons he learned from a school internet safety presentation and helped to report a man who was trying to entice him online.
According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the boy was contacted by this adult man through a social networking site. The messages he received were explicit and caused him to remember the instructions he heard when the local police department came to his school to teach internet safety. And so, he reported the online predator to the CyberTipline. As a result of an extensive investigation, this predator has been charged and is in custody.
The bottom line, if you have school-aged children, use this summer to find your local organization who will visit your school or provide you with the materials to help educate your children about online safety. Not just the risk of online predation, but cyberbullying, identity theft, password protection, spyware and viruses and the other online dangers your children might encounter but not be equipped to handle on their own. Here are just a few resources to start with:
IkeepSafe.org - this wonderful organization has numerous presentations, books and videos that you or a local volunteer can present at your school. Visit their website and review both the parent and educator sections for more information. If your school has a D.A.R.E. officer, they also use IkeepSafe materials in teaching children.
WebWiseKids - they've developed a compelling game for middle school children, called "Missing," that allows kids to play act the role of a detective, searching for a child lured by an online predator. They have additional programs and training for other subjects and older children as well.
Netsmartz - this group is part of the wonderful team at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. They have terrific programming for schools on a variety of topics and an online blog that parents will find very readable and educational.
iSafe - they have already educated more than 5 million children about internet safety. They have online training so that teachers, parents, community leaders can become empowered teachers of the iSafe materials.
These are just a few of the larger US based organizations. You may also find your best local resources include your Police Department (ask if they have a Cybercrime team, Internet Crimes Against Children officer or other specialist), D.A.R.E. officers as I've mentioned, even elected officials who have made online safety for our children a priority of their official work. Boys and Girls Scouts have added Cyber Safety badge requirements and may want to volunteer to give a classroom presentation.
And if all that fails, send me an email and I'll help you find a good local partner to help your children learn about this important topic!