Sue Scheff: National Cyber Safety Awareness Month

October is National Cyber Safety Awareness Month.



This is a great time to put together a list of great websites and resources to help you become an educated parent as well as helping your kids and teens to surf safely.



Over the past few months, I have written articles on Cyber Safety and how you can protect yourself and your family.



In August I released my recent book, Google Bomb! The Untold Story of the $11.3M Verdict Changed the Way We Use the Internet, which has received high praises and fantastic reviews.
Here is a small sample of some excellent articles, websites and services to help you be an educated parent. An educated parent leads to a safer child/teen online. Isn’t your child worth it? Take the time to learn more.



Articles for your review:



Internet image: Tips to maintain your virtual profile and resume


Do you know what Google is saying about you?


What is a Google Bomb?


Social Web Tips for TeensSocial Web Tips for Parents


Parenting Teens and cell phone tips


Teen Internet Addiction


Internet Safety and Guidance Counselors


Internet Safety and Internet Predators



Websites to review:



iKeepSafe.org
Love Our Children USA
Cyber Patrol iLookBothWays
Web Wise Kids
Cati Cares
Connect Safely
Mothers Against Predators
YourSphere



Services and books promoting Online Safety



ReputationDefender/MyChild


PG KeyGoogle Bomb Book – by John W. Dozier Jr. and Sue Scheff


Look Both Ways – by Linda Criddle


Secrets Stolen, Fortunes Lost – by Christopher Burgess and Richard Power


Cyber Safety Book – by Ken Knapton



As an author and Parent Advocate, I always encourage parents to put aside time to know what your kids/teens are doing in cyberspace. Teach them about the importance of what they post today, may haunt them tomorrow.

Also on Examiner.com

For more info: National Cyber Safety Awareness website.

Sue Scheff: Wired Safety - Helping You and Your Kids Stay Safe In Cyberspace

Parry Aftab is one of the leading advocates in promoting Internet Safety for our children and all people.

With the popularity of Social Networking on the increase, WiredSafety provides schools, parents, regulators and the media with a wealth of information on keeping Kids and Teens Safe on MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Xanga and other Social Networking Sites.

The following resources are all available for viewing online and/or download as PDF files:

Quick tips on Social Networking safety for parents and teens.
What you need to know about YouTube and other video networks.
Parenting Online booklet (English).
Parenting Online booklet (En Español).
Follow this link to find out more about safe Social Networking >>

Find out more about other organizations that Parry works with here:

Teenangels, Tweenangels, WiredKids, CyberLawEnforcement and StopCyberbullying, as well as WiredSafety.

Follow Parry Aftab on Twitter @ParryAftab and @WiredMoms

Sue Scheff: The Parents Guide to Protecting Your Children in Cyberspace

By Parry Aftab

Just about everyone agrees that certain places in cyberspace are inappropriate for children. What people don't agree on is how to keep kids from wandering into areas where they don't belong. From the ACLU to Congress, local PTAs and national teacher's organizations, the issue is devise and polarizing.

Given recent events such as what happened in Littleton, Colorado, it is also becoming clear that there's more to protecting children in cyberspace than just blocking pornographic sites with filtering programs. How can parents, teachers and librarians navigate this confusing issue without overstepping legal boundaries while at the same time protecting kids from the dangers--both hidden and obvious--that abound on the Net? Internationally respected attorney and cyber-expert Parry Aftab offers a sensible, clear-cut guide to protecting children from the dark side of the Web.

Based upon her self-published book A Parent's Guide to the Internet and How to Protect Your Children in Cyberspace, Aftab details the threats that lurk throughout the world wide web, from spam and chatrooms, to cyber porn and cyber stalkers, to sites that promote violence fantasy role-playing and hatred. She then goes on to detail what steps parents and teachers can and should take to keep children from accessing certain sites.

Learn more.

Sue Scheff: Sign The Petition - Support Nikki Catsouras

When a family loses a child, I can’t even imagine the pain they endure. How they wake up the next day, how they feel, what they feel and how they go on with life. When a family loses a child in a tragic accident it seems it could only compound all the feelings of loss.

On October 31, 2006 the Catsouras family experienced the nightmare every parent fears - losing a teen in a tragic automobile accident.

The accident was the beginning of an emotional roller coaster. If you haven’t heard about this story, it is time to take a moment and help make a difference. Nikki Catsouras, after having a horrific car accident was dead on impact, the scene was described as shocking as Nikki’s head was nearly decapitated.

Can you even imagine as a parent, learning of this? Can you imagine living through this? As a parent advocate and a parent of two young adults now, I couldn’t even begin to imagine what this family has gone through.

What follows next is nothing short of evil, in my opinion. Shortly after Nikki was buried, her parents and sisters still in mourning, the Internet creeped into their lives in the most heinous way. Photo’s of Nikki’s crime scene were posted online! Yes, their daughter’s body, or what was left of it, was going viral! Where is justice? Who in God’s name would do this?

Please take a moment to read “A Tribute to Nikki Catsouras” and sign the petition to help create reasonable protection for personal privacy on the Internet.