What are the current trends in technology and what can we do to increase cyber safety?

Social Media and Facebook Privacy Settings: The minimum age to join Facebook for children is Age 13. Best practice for those 13 year olds and younger teens is to create a group for their peers to keep the connection to adults separate.

Popularity of the game Farmville on Facebook: Under age children are joining Facebook in rapid numbers because of the popularity of Farmville. Club Tuki (The Ultimate Kids Internet) is a much better choice for online games, offered are educational games for ages 4 to 14. Club Tuki has a parental control component built in and is a child safe web browser.

Two Important Privacy Protection Settings on Facebook for Children:

Uncheck the box under Account, Privacy Settings, and Search. This will not allow the public to see a preview of your child's Facebook profile; and Set the "Facebook Search Results" to Only Friends.

What other techniques are available to help with cyber safety?

Protecting your kids online is not difficult. Because of improved technologies now available and in the book The Five Dangerous Trends Concerning Kids, Technology and the Internet we help you layout your Plan of Action.

What are some examples to kick off your Plan of Action?

Use and get familiar social media in order to obtain a better understanding of the technologies kids use. Keep or Create a Dialogue: Talk to your kids about cyber safety just as you would any other topic such as drugs, drinking or texting and driving. Know their virtual peers and friends just as you do in real life and knowing they are the same gives peace of mind. Limit time online; establishing boundaries is always wise whether in real life or online and put safeguards in place.