Share with care: Teach your teens about privacy online

It is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM).  Most teens and even children are more sophisticated online than their parents.  That means parents need to take the time to catch up!

Parenting usually includes teaching our children to share.  However when it comes to cyberspace, we need to understand that sharing is not always the best policy. (Watch video).

What you post online could have an impact on people in the real world.


As you know, the Internet offers students a wealth of opportunities to communicate, socialize and explore the world.  But these benefits come with risks.  Problems like cyberbullying, sexting and over-sharing on social networking sites affect students, schools and communities across the country.

OnGuard Online, Stop - Think - Click is a program designed and provided by The Federal Trade Commision (FTC) to help keep our teens and children safe in space.  The are offering free booklets and a toolkit to help you become a better informed parent, teacher and person when it comes to online safety.

The toolkit materials are free and in the public domain.  They encourage teachers, parents and others who care for kids to use this resource during a classroom presentation, community gathering or PTA meeting, and to spread the word by using the information in a newsletter or on your website, ordering free copies of Net Cetera and Heads Up for your neighborhood school from bulkorder.ftc.gov, or sharing the toolkit with colleagues and community leaders.

During NCSAM, and all year round, learn as much as you can about cybersafety and cybersecurity.


Be an educated parent, you will have safer teens.

Read more.

Sue Scheff: Cyber safety now available for parents and kids - Order your free copies!

Just released:

FTC, Department of Education, Federal Communications Commission Officials Present Free Booklet at D.C. Middle School

A new booklet released today by the Federal Trade Commission and other government agencies helps parents and teachers steer kids safely through the online and mobile phone worlds.

Net Cetera: Chatting with Kids About Being Online was unveiled this morning at Jefferson Middle School in Washington, D.C. by FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski. At the middle school, which is known for its emphasis on science and technology, the officials met with students and teachers to discuss online safety.

"The conversations that make kids good digital citizens aren't about the technology; they're about communicating your values as a parent," said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz. "Teaching kids to treat others as they'd like to be treated online is key. Net Cetera tells you how to start those conversations - even if you think your kids are more tech-savvy than you are."

Net Cetera tells parents and teachers what they need to know to talk to kids about issues like cyberbullying, sexting, mobile phone safety, and protecting the family computer. Talking to kids about these topics can help them avoid behaving rudely online; steer clear of inappropriate content like pornography, violence, or hate speech; and protect themselves from contact with bullies, predators, hackers, and scammers.

The booklet is available at OnGuardOnline.gov, the federal government's online safety Web site. OnGuardOnline.gov is a partnership of more than a dozen federal agencies and the technology industry. Like all the consumer education resources at the site, Net Cetera is free and available for public use. At OnGuardOnline, parents can download sections of the booklet, link to it, or post it on their own site. At bulkorder.ftc.gov parents can order the printed version of the booklet in bulk.

Be an educated parent, take the time to learn - you will have safer kids in cyberspace!

Don't forget to read about Parenting 2010 - Getting ahead of your kids technically through T.A.L.K.

Official Press Release - click here.