NetSmartz is the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) online safety education program. Their goal is to help children become more aware of the potential dangers that surround them when they are online. NetSmartz provides numerous resources that parents and educators may use to help educate their children/students. Topics for elementary aged children include telling parents/guardians if something makes them feel uncomfortable online, saying “no” if somebody asks them to do something inappropriate, following rules set by parents and teachers, and many other things as well. Topics for high school students include stories from victims of sexting/sextortion, distinguishing real vs. fake profiles and messages, avoiding posting inappropriate things online or via texting, not saying something online that you would not say in person, and other things of that nature.
In addition to resources for children, there is a page of resources for adults/parents. These include things such as how to tell if somebody, maybe even your child, is a victim of sextortion or cyberbullying, how to keep the internet safe in your home, and how to talk to your kids about some online temptations, such as sexting.
Besides a variety of resources, NetSmartz is also a place to report online exploitation, whether a child is a victim of sexual exploitation or if somebody online tried to entice a child inappropriately.
The following is a link to the resources page of NetSmartz:
*Please note, that although we have found valuable information from an external web page for our blog post, we do not endorse all information, religious views and opinions posted on these third-party websites.