FaceBook for Kids

Worried about your kids being online? You should be. A June 2010 study commissioned by internet security giant, McAfee, reports that "almost half of youth (46 percent) admit to having given out their personal information to someone they didn't know over the Internet."

FaceBook for Kids (FBFKids) is one site that's trying to help parents protect their children online by providing  -- and I quote -- "a non profit, safe, secure, monitored and moderated children's social networking site."

Apparently started by a mother of two, FBFKids is not related to Facebook. It's an alternative to Facebook, and has the following stated procedures to keep the site as safe as possible:

• complete editorial control - they review input content daily and will delete if deemed unsuitable;

• will investigate any messages deemed to be in violation of site and/or safety rules;

• will delete anything deemed questionable;

• will warn a child if s/he is engaging in questionable safety practices (ie., sending personal information or off-site contact details).

• their "meeting room" has a live person as site monitor, but private chat rooms do not. All chats, however, are recorded and will be reviewed if deemed necessary.

I don't have personal experience with FBFKids -- if you do, please leave a comment. What I do like about the way the site presents itself is that it repeats several times that although FBFKids monitors the site 24/7,

we do not monitor any paticular child. It is up to you as a Parent or Gardian to monitor your own child.

Words to live by.






Related post: Internet Safety for Kids Online

Internet Safety for Kids Online

Nothing beats parental involvement and supervision, but there's a list of 10 rules for online safety at SafeKids.com that kids and parents should be aware of and talk about.

Remember -- children are programmed to give the "right answer" when asked a question, so it's crucially important that the privacy factor (which seems so obvious to adults) not only be introduced but also reviewed from time to time. Reasons backing up the need for privacy and safety don't have to explicit enough to frighten -- it's enough for kids to understand that there are bullies online (just like at school).

With cyber-bullying becoming a truly serious issue, it's not just strangers parents need to be concerned about. If your child has any kind of social media account (like Facebook or MySpace, for instance), make sure s/he knows how to delete suggested friends and decline invitations, etc., in order to maintain a semblance of control on the messages that flood in. Look through the spam box in your child's email account once in a while (and empty it). If it's full of spam that you don't want your child to see, simply open up a new kid-safe email account.






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