Disclosure – I participated in an Influencer Activation Program on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for BGCA. I received a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

Five years ago, if you’d have asked me about Cyber Safety, I would have told you that kids can be cruel and that I’m 100% prepared to keep my kiddos safe on the web.

Do you have what it takes to keep your kids safe online?  Start off by taking this quiz before you read any further.  I aced it, but that’s because we’re pretty overbearing when it comes to online safety!

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Then came the big cell phone app push.  Sure, we had chat rooms online and Facebook, but I wasn’t quite prepared for the mayhem that is a teen with a cell phone.

When the Teen first got her cell phone, we quickly found out that we were not the only parents who monitored their teen’s phone usage, but we were pretty much the only family who monitored it to the extreme that we do.  You see, our daughter, and her friends, do not stand a chance when it comes to cyber sneakiness.  According the Boys & Girls Clubs of America Cyber Tribe, the average teen send 1,600 texts a month.  Without restriction, our Teen has been known to send 3 to 4 times that amount.

If a new app is downloaded, we know.  If a new email is created, we know.  If something inappropriate is said or sent, we know.  Yes, we’re overbearing when it comes to our daughter’s Cyber Safety, but one day, she’ll thank us for it.   We’re teaching her that not only do you have to be accountable for your words and actions in public, but you are 100% accountable for the same online whether it’s through a Twitter DM, a text, Instagram comment, etc.  It’s out there, and it doesn’t matter if you like it or not, at any given time, anything you say or do online can be public in a matter of a screenshot.  (And….. friends of our teen… you’ve officially been publicly warned.  We WILL go to your parents – we’ve done it before.)

Now that we’ve moved into the online gaming era where it’s so easy for kids to join parties and add random friends through the Xbox and the like, Cyber Safety is becoming more and more important for kids of all ages.  Just yesterday, the Geekdaddy unlocked our boys’ friend request abilities for about an hour (due to remote technical difficulties), and some older kid with the gamer tag of “Jaden Smith” tried to convince my 10 year old that they go to the same school and that he was at a birthday party we had at the house.  He was so convincing (I’m pretty sure it’s because the name is a familiar one) that my Gamer tried to talk ME into knowing this kid!  The Entertainer wised up and let me and his brother know that this kid was trying to trick them, so they immediately deleted him, and we put their friend requests back on lock down.

photo 2472-14_CyberTribe_HomeCTA_627x210_zpsb76c5ec7.pngIf you’re not sure how to keep your kids safe online, in games, and via cell phone, The Boys and Girls Club of America’s Cyber Safe Futures initiative is an awesome place for parents (and teens!) to go to and have questions answered.  They have a neat little  CyberTribe comprised of teens to answer all of your questions!  Also make sure you check out their Cyber Safety Resources to see how well you know your teen’s usage, networking, and privacy!

Be sure to submit a question of your own on the BGCA CyberSafe site to the teen CyberTribe.  If you submit a question, you are entered for a chance to win an iPad mini and $500 to the Boys & Girls Club of your choice!