The Child Safety Task Force aims to identify and promote best practices for online safety as well as educate parents on this issue. Below you will find a variety of resources to keep your children safe while they’re surfing the web.

Resources

Family Online Safety Institute Parents play a pivotal role in how their children come to use and benefit from the Internet. Few would dispute the positive impact that new technologies are having on childhood, but there is an underlying concern amongst parents about how they can best protect their family from inappropriate content and contact.

Help to make your child’s experience on the Internet a positive one by educating yourself first!

• The parents’ child protection guide for the internet Good advice for all parents

• Children’s bill of rights for the internet

A colorful poster designed to be printed out and displayed right next to your

child’s computer to remind them that they have a right to be safe!

• The family online internet safety contract

This is a terrific way to start a conversation with your children and help them to keep themselves safe. Facebook Safety Facebook aspires to be an environment where people can interact safely with their friends and the people around them. Children under 13 years old are not permitted access to Facebook. In addition, parents of children 13 years and older should consider whether their child should be supervised during the child’s use of the Facebook site. Google’s Tips for Online Safety When it comes to child safety, Google aims to:

• Empower parents with tools to help them choose what content their children see online;
• Educate children on how to stay safe online;
• Protect children through partnerships with law enforcement and industry.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Online Safety Rules For Kids

• Online Safety Rules For Kids

I Keep Safe Coalition

• The Internet Keep Safe Coalition is a broad partnership of governors and/or first spouses, attorneys general, public health and educational professionals, law enforcement, and industry leaders working together for the health and safety of youth online. iKeepSafe uses these unique partnerships to disseminate safety resources to families worldwide.

Articles

‘Sex’ and ‘porn’ make top 10 of kids’ online searches

• Examiner, August 13, 3009

The Oprah Winfrey Show’s 12 Things You Can Do to be Safer Online

• A quick checklist to get you started on the road to Internet safety.

The Sexting Generation

• The Star Ledger, August 13, 2009

Online sex-offender registry expands

• The News Journal, August 12, 2009

Social-networking ban for sex offenders: Bad call?

• CNET News, August 13, 2009

Child Safety Task Force on Parents, Kids & the Internet

• Opposing Views, June 29, 2009