October is Cyber Safety Month

Long gone are the days of the "be home before the sun goes down" kind of parenting that a lot of us grew up with. Unfortunately, however, the more kids are inside, the more inclined they are to engage in some kind of online, electronic activity. I'm sure we've all seen news reports about cyber bullying, online security, location services on devices, geotagging of photos and social networking predators. It would be nice to think these topics won't impact our youth, but we need to be proactive and realize that we are in the thick of it! We must protect them.

Crazy fact - did you know that over 5 MILLION Facebook users are actually kids under the age of 10 even though the age limit to even have an account is 13?

If you have a pulse, you've likely heard of.... Minecraft or Roblox or even Fortnight. I know many Scouts absolutely LOVE watching YouTube videos that have to do with these gaming platforms. However, if you think for a second that they should watch these unsupervised, you're in for a shock. Unless you disconnect the chat feature, it's a perfect tool for a predator to groom your child. Predators use clickbait to lure victims to watch material that is anything but age appropriate for Cub Scouts or adults for that matter!  FortNight and Roblox have both been exposed time and time again for being a candystore for predators.

More and more children have their own electronic devices allowing them even greater access to a whole world that is not the most friendly to the eyes, heart and especially to the spirit and character of our children.

With the electronic world aimed against us, how can parents teach our children internet safety principles?

In partnership with NetSmartz®, the Boy Scouts of America developed the Cyber Chip program. Along the same lines of how the Whittling Chip is designed to teach the boys pocketknife safety, the Cyber Chip is designed to teach them internet safety. There are BSA Cyber Chip requirements for boys in grades 1-3, grades 4-5 so your Cub Scouts are covered! In fact, there are programs available from grades 1 - 12! Even if your children aren’t in Cub Scouts, you can still take advantage of NetSmartz’s awesome programming.

Each Cyber Chip level covers topics such as cyber bullying, cell phone use, texting, blogging, gaming and identity theft. To earn the Cyber Chip, Cub Scouts sign an Internet Safety Pledge, watch an age-appropriate online video and share what they’ve learned with their den or den leader. Older boys complete additional activities.

Once they present their completion certificate to their den leaders, they will earn their Cyber Chip which is a temporary patch to be worn on their uniform. (It's pictured at the top of this post.)

The Cyber Chip expires annually. Scouts are required to “recharge” the chip each year by returning to the NetSmartz® website for their grade and completing the recharge requirements (at the bottom for their required grade). Grades 1-3 have their own experience, Grades 4-5 have another, 6-8 have another and grades 9-12 have their own as well. This keeps the information relevant and age appropriate. Upon this completion, they'll be presented with a recharged pin to wear on their patch.

It is definitely hard to navigate these waters, but we have a responsibility to keep our kids safe and we can only do that by first educating ourselves. By encouraging our kids to participate in programs like the Cyber Chip, we are taking steps to ensure they are equipped with the tools to keep them and their friends and siblings safe.

If your Scout has already completed his/her Cyber Chip and you want to mix it up a little, there's a new award called the Protect Yourself Rules Adventure Loop. This can either be earned as an elective or in place of the Cyber Chip for one year.    You can read all about this new adventure loop for our program and all of the requirements RIGHT HERE.

Cyber safety -- it's all of our jobs! It’s never too early to begin talking about it with your children. Start your conversation today and help them earn this awesome temporary patch that can be worn with their uniform -- the Cyber Chip, their recharter pin OR the new adventure loop!