Get Net Smart with Online Safety Tips from NetSmartz.org

NetSmartz.org is a service that provides online safety tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGCA). It originated with a brochure published by the NCMEC in 1994, when the Internet as we know it still was in its infancy. The brochure, called Child Safety on the Information Highway, provided an early roadmap for families to stay safe in cyberspace.

Those early efforts at providing the public with online safety tips evolved into the NetSmartz Workshop. The NetSmartz.org website offers access to CD-based workshops containing age-appropriate online safety tips geared toward the following groups:

• Children 5-12

• Teens 13-17

• Educators

• Parents

• Guardians

• Law enforcement officers

According to NetSmartz.org research, 45 percent of children in the United States - more than 30 million kids younger than 18 - use the Internet. In addition to advice on how to avoid manipulation and criminal activity, an important element of any list of kids online safety tips should include the proper management of time spent browsing the millions of entertainment options offered on the Web.

The Mikko Que is a device that helps parents monitor and exert control over their kids' online time, as well as limiting the amount of time spent watching TV or playing video games. The Que allows parents to preset the time of day and amount of time a child can use an electronic device. The child can activate the device with a TimeKey burned using a standard USB drive. As the allotted time expires, a user receives a warning in order to save a file or a game. Then, when the time expires, the screen shuts off. Contact Mikko USA to learn more about the revolutionary Que.

Media Management for Children ... It's time.