That right, The Kids Email Fundraiser Card is a unique fundraising card where your customer gets kid-safe email for their entire family.  Your Group will earn between 70-100% profit, while providing an easy to sell card that offers real value to those who buy it.

These cards are easy to sell because 90% of households have internet at home.  So whether you are selling it to a parent, grandparent, or even an aunt or uncle this service is important to them.  This service is offered online, so your School or Organization can sell these Kids Email Fundraiser Cards to family and friends located anywhere across the country!

KidsEmail.org makes is easy for you to plan the fundraiser by helping you with each step in the process by providing your group with the Kids Email Fundraiser Kit.  The Kit includes:

• Program Details
• Value Proposition / Profit Schedule
• Product Order Sheet
• Fundraiser Strategy Documents
• Project Support CD (not included in digital delivery)

Your Fundraising Kit contains everything you need to evaluate and present the project to your group for approval.

Basically, your group purchases the fundraising cards directly from us for $3.00 and then sells them to your supporters for $10.00.  To help you increase your profit margin we also give you FREE FUNDRAISING CARDS.  The amount of the Free Cards you received coincide with the number of cards your group purchases.

The Kids Email Fundraising Card is the only one of its kind that comes with a 30-DAY MONEY-BACK GAURANTEE. If you and your group do not sell enough Kids Email Fundraising Cards to recoup your initial investment, we will refund the difference. Because of our guarantee, YOU CAN ONLY MAKE MONEY WITH OUR PROGRAM!

Once your group has sold enough cards to make a profit, the remaining fundraising cards are yours to keep.  Get more information on the KidsEmail Fundraiser.

According to a Survey conducted by the Kaplan Test Prep, of those colleges surveyed in 2011, 24% have reviewed the prospective students Social Networking and Facebook accounts. In addition, 20% have used Google to see what was available online. It should be noted that this is not a routine procedure, but is usually triggered after the college gets an anonymous tip or an online forum post.

In the past, before all of these Social Networking Sites, the College Admission Boards could only vet the student by reviewing the information that was submitted to them. There really wasn’t a lot of information for them to review outside of that.

But now,  Colleges have the option to do a simple Google search on your children and get a very good idea of their character, who their friends are, if they posted any inappropriate photos of themselves on Facebook… I think you are getting the picture.

This is just one more reason, and it is a significant one, to carefully guide and monitor your children’s online activities. You need to sit down and explain to them in detail what constitutes appropriate behavior while they are on the internet. Something that you children may think is no big deal to post online, may later turn out to be significant enough to keep them from getting into the College of their choice.

Make sure that you have access to all of your children’s Social Media Networking sites. Review these sites at least once of week. If you find anything inappropriate on these sites bring it to their attention immediately. Sit down and patiently explain to your child why they should not be posting this type of material on the internet and delete it from the site. Taking the time to monitor their activity online will be a wise investment in their future.

Read more about the Kaplan Test Prep’s 2011 Survey

Photo Credit Bernard Goldbach

The Internet has an awesome amount of information, however, it also contains material and websites that are not appropriate for children to view.  Let alone stumble upon it when they least expect it.

Here are some statistics you need to consider:

1. The Kaiser Family Foundation found that among teens online, 70 percent have accidentally come across pornography on the Web (Kaiser Family Foundation).

2. A study by the NOP Research Group found that of the four million children, aged seven to 17 who surf the net, 29% percent would freely give out their home address and 14% would freely give out their e-mail address if asked. (Telegraph.co.uk January 2002)

3. Nine out of 10 children aged between eight and 16 have viewed pornography on the Internet. In most cases, the adult sites were accessed unintentionally when a child, often in the process of doing homework, used a seemingly innocent sounding word to search for information or pictures. (London School of Economics January 2002)

These statistics are very disturbing, and seriously affect our children’s well being.  Now, would you like to have an Internet that is Safe for your children to use?  You could go about your house work and get your business done without worrying about what websites your children are viewing.  This would take a huge burden off your shoulders.  Want to know how to achieve this?

Actually it is really easy and affordable by simply installing “My Kids Browser”.  This program will protect your children against pornography, predators and other Internet dangers, even if you can’t be there to monitor them.  My Kids Browser is different than other filtering programs because it will only let them access clean websites.  If you would like to add a website to your child’s “white list” you can.  Then the website will be checked out by the program and you will be advised of any risks.

The My Kids Browser has many great features, such as turning off the print feature so that you kids don’t print every picture they see on the internet.  In addition, you can set the amount of time they can use the computer.  Once that limit is reached, the browser will shutdown.  This should eliminate a lot of arguments you may be experiencing right now.

Here are some more of the many features that are included in My Kids Browser:

·  Protects your children every second they’re on the internet!
·  Web-page analyzer that analyzes any page you add to their list.
·  Desktop lockdown that allows you to prohibit children from using Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc so that they only use the Kid Safe Internet Browser. (For Windows 2000, XP, & Vista)
·  History area that lets you see where your kids have been (they will only have access to SAFE areas)
·  Helps children learn and practice math, English, and science
·  Sandbox area for kids to play almost unlimited games.

· Full featured web browser
· Password-protected Parental Admin area
· Unlimited updates / auto-update checker
· Keeps children safer than by using only filtered internet
· Pop-up blocker (configurable)
· Enable / Disable the printer and search bar
· View how long your children have used the internet per day.

The My Kids Browser program offers a Free Trial so you can use it before you actually purchase it.  To find out more information about the this program and to check out all of the features, please visit:

http://www.mykidsbrowser.com/

Photo Credit: IrisKH

Recently, we have seen news reports on how some of the X-Factor contestants were the object of CyberBullying.  This just goes to show that CyberBullying can happen to anyone.  Be it your average Child in your hometown, your own children, or someone who is in the News.The most important thing that a parent can do to protect their child is to keep the lines of communication open.  Just sit down and have an open and honest discussion with your child about CyberBullying.

You could even use the X-Factor CyberBullying information as a way to approach the subject with your children.  It is always easier to open up a conversation when it’s somebody else you are talking about.  This will put the child at ease while you try to find out if there are any problems they are currently dealing with.

Ask them if they are aware of  CyberBullying and if this has ever happened to them.  This may encourage your children to tell you if they have been or are currently being harassed.  If your children admit to being CyberBullied, take action immediately.  Don’t ignore the situation thinking that it will blow over because this type of behavior more times than not can escalate quickly.

Remember just how fast the internet can deliver emails, Facebook posts, and tweets on Twitter.  If there is any type of CyberBullying behavior being directed to your children, do whatever it takes to stop it.

Each Website has a report or abuse button that you can use to report CyberBullying activity.  Also, you can notify the school principal of the situation so they can let the teachers know what is happening and take measures to protect your child.

For more information about how to handle CyberBullying and the articles about the X Factor contestants please visit:

Photo Credit: FotoChronicle Frankie

Most parents have been running around the electronics stores purchasing the latest and greatest electronic gifts for their children’s Christmas Wish List. You probably cashed in on some of the smoking hot deals during Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Now as you sit down at the dining room table wrapping all of these presents while the kids are still in school you start to worry. How are you going to protect your children while they are using this exciting new technology?

Suzie is getting her first tablet, and John needed a computer because he will be in High School next year. Plus, for the family you splurged and bought an Xbox 360. Now is a good time to start thinking about what guidelines you need to have established when the kids start using these fantastic gifts you saved a bundle on.

 Here are 7 Guidelines to keep your Children safe online.

1) Explain to the Children that all electronic devices will be used in the family room where you will be able to periodically monitor their use. They cannot use them in their bedrooms.

2) Install software that allows you to set Parental Controls so that you can indeed monitor where your children have been surfing on the internet, and have the ability to block sites as needed.

3) Take the time to sit down with your children and actually show them how to use the Internet safely and set clear expectations of consequences if they do not follow your guidelines.

4) Stress the fact that you will not allow them to use chat rooms. This is how personal information is often discovered.

5) If they want to set up an account on a particular website, they need to come to you first. Tell them you will review the website and determine if this site is age appropriate for them.

6) Set up the account on the website your child wants to use yourself, allowing you to maintain access for periodic checks of activity and site changes.

7) Finally, stress to your children that if they are ever the victim of cyberbullying or receive any type of inappropriate information to report it to you immediately.

Now, this is the hard part. You, the parent will actually have to get up periodically when the children are in the family room using these devices and monitor what is on their screen. Not just one time but several times when they least expect it. Use the Parental monitoring software to see what websites they have visited.

If indeed, the children have been following your guidelines, then you should congratulate yourself on a job well done. However, if they have not been following your guidelines, follow through on the expectations of consequences you originally set.

For more information about keeping your children safe on the internet, visit:

 Kidshealth.org Internet Safety

At the end of last week, I came across some articles about the new release of the Ugly Meter app that is available for the iPhone and iPad on iTunes for $.99.  The Ugly Meter app, Version 2.76, created by Dapper Gentlemen was released on November 29th, and adds a Bully Mode with meaner insults.  This app is rated 9+.

Photo by: David Goehring

For those of you not familiar with the app, you take a picture of a person’s face, and it scans the photo.  Then the app uses the Ugly Scale to rate this picture and assigns it a number from 0 to 10.  The rating of 0 is the Best rating and 10 is the worst rating you can receive.  Along with the rating you will receive a narrative statement, the higher the number the meaner the insults become.  Then the results can be posted to Twitter or Facebook, if the user chooses to do so.

The results are random, and this app is intended for use as entertainment.  However, as a parent, you know how impressionable our children can be, and they may take the rating seriously.  This article is intended to make you aware of the application, and to remind you to check your iTunes statements to see if your children have downloaded this $.99 app.

If your child happens to find themselves affected by the Ugly Meter, you may want to have them view this YouTube Video below.  This video explains the app and shows that it is a trick app and how you can change the outcome of the results.  It also shows a picture of Brad Pitt getting a score of 8 which means he’s ugly, and the statement received was, “If ugly was a crime you’d get the electric chair”.  Of course we all know that Brad Pitt is not generally perceived as  ugly.  It may help your child realize that the results are not real.

(Please note that this video was created when the app was a Free App, but now it costs $.99)

Photo Credit: Alan Cleaver

This article is a follow up to the October 28, 2011, Kids Email blog post entitled, “Can Klout take your child’s privacy away.”  Since that article was published there have been some major changes at Klout.com regarding Privacy and we here at KidsEmail want to make sure you are up to date on this issue.

5)      Then on the “Opt Out from Klout” Page scroll down to the bottom of the page and Click on Twitter or Facebook

6)      You will have to sign in using your Twitter or Facebook username and password, then follow the instructions.

If you are already a Klout member, you will have to be signed into your account before you proceed.  Then follow Steps 1 through 4 above.  Then you will be taken to your Edit Profile Page of your Klout account.  Under the “We Value Your Privacy” paragraph, click on “Continue opting out”.  Just follow the directions.

To further protect yourself and your children, when you are on any social media site make sure that you have a private account.  If your account is private your data will not be analyzed by Klout unless you give them permission to do so. However, if you create a public account and do not want the data analyzed by Klout, go to Klout and go through the Opt out process described above.

If you find out that your child has provided information to Klout without your knowledge or consent, contact Klout by email at privacy@klout.com to have that information deleted from their records.

Also, make sure that you go over your children’s privacy controls on their Facebook account to ensure that they are set correctly.

To read the response by Klout’s CEO Joe Fernandez to Critics reported by the Social Media Today Website or The New York Times article entitled, “When Sites Drag the Unwitting Across the Web” click on the links below:

http://socialmediatoday.com/rohnjaymiller/392574/klout-ceo-joe-fernandez-responds-critics

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/14/technology/klouts-automatically-created-profiles-included-minors.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

Have you taken steps to remove your child from Klout? Do you think the changes listed above are enough?

Tell us about your experience.

James Emery

Basically you find out that there is no hard and fast rules that states a child has to be X years old before they can have an email account.  Each parent has to decide this for themselves.  Do you feel that your child is mature enough to have his own email account.  Can he be responsible, and follow the rules you set down for the account?  Also, take into consideration if your child really needs an email account at age 8, if the answer is yes, then follow these basic steps.

It is best to set up an account on your own computer using Eudora or Outlook so that the child’s email will come right into your computer.  That way you can oversee the account and delete any spam or inappropriate emails.  Since he is only 8, and has limited reading skills, he will need adult supervision for some time with his email account.

You could also sign your child up for an email account through kidsemail.org.  Try it for Free for 30 days!  Kids Email is designed specifically with your child in mind. You control the account when you choose the settings.  Here are some of the settings available for the Kids Email accounts:

1)      Receive email only from the contact list that the parent sets up and controls.
2)      Parent is CC’d on every incoming or outgoing email.
3)      Remove images from incoming emails.
4)      Removes links.
5)      Allow only certain types of attachments
6)      Filters out bad words.
7)      Have spam  automatically filtered and removed.

When your child receives an email from someone on their contact list, the Kids Email software will take the email, censor any bad words, remove any images, and scan it for viruses all based on the parent’s settings.  The parent is automatically sent a copy of each email the child receives or sends so that they are aware of the correspondence.  When your child receives the email, they receive it in a safe environment without any ads, bad words or viruses.

If somebody tries to send an email to your child that is not on their accepted contact list, the email is not sent to the child and is only sent to the parent by Kids Email.  Then the parent reviews the email and decides whether to accept the email or deny the email in the Kids Email Mail queue.  If the parent accepts the email that person can be added to the child’s contact list or simply reject the email and not allow it to be sent to their child.  For more information about Kids Email accounts please visit our About Kids Email page and don’t forget to watch the video.

Next you should give the email address to his grandparents and a few of the aunts and uncles so that your child has some email coming in so that you can guide him in the process of how an email account works.  Explain what spam email is and that he should only give the email address to his very close friends.  Make sure that you stress that he should let you know immediately if he ever receives an email that makes him uncomfortable.

Now, you have to let him down very gently when you explain to him that he cannot have a Facebook account until he turns 13 years old.  It is out of your hands, because Facebook Terms of Service, Section 4, Registration and Account Security, Item 5 States, “You will not use Facebook if you are under 13.”

Parents, keep in mind that Facebook has to follow Federal Laws and has designed the site for use by teens and adults. If your child is 13 years old and wants a Facebook account they are free to sign up.  To safeguard your child’s privacy and safety on Facebook, please visit the following websites listed below.

http://www.facebook.com/safety/tools/

http://www.connectsafely.org/pdfs/fbparents.pdf

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=JUV5Kev1ke4

Picture Credit: Flickr blvesboy José Luís Agapito

First, you, the parent need to educate yourselves about Internet Safety.  If there is a local adult education class given at your college, city library or other organization, please take it.  There are also many great resources on the internet that you can use.  The more that you learn, the more you can safeguard and teach your child.

 5 guidelines you can use when discussing safety on the Internet with your children.

1)    Have a very open and honest conversation with your children about internet safety.  Explain that the computer will be kept in a family room and that you will be monitoring their computer usage daily.

2)    Make sure that the kids understand they are not to give out any personal information over the internet.  That includes their name, address, birthday, social security number or school name.

3)    Establish a username for your child to use on different websites so they are not using their real name.  Then instruct your children to use this username.

4)    Do not allow them to use the chat rooms online, period.  No discussion.  Too much personal information is gleamed from chat rooms.

5)    Stress to your child that if they are ever the victim of cyberbulling or inappropriate contact by email they are to notify you immediately.

6 steps that you, as a parent can take to safeguard your children while they are online.

1)    Install online tools that can block and filter the internet sites your children can access.

2)    Talk to your Internet Provider and see if they offer any parental control options with their service.  If they do, use them.

3)    Physically sit down with your child at the computer and teach them how to safety use the Internet.

4)    Have your children’s email sent through your email account so that you can monitor them.  Better yet, you can sign your child up for an email account through kidsemail.org.  Try it for Free today!

5)     Make a point of walking by the computer while your child is using it, so they are aware that you are monitoring what they are doing online.

6)    If your child comes to you with information about being a victim of cyberbullying or receiving inappropriate information take the threat seriously.  Praise your child for coming forward immediately with the information and take the appropriate steps to report it to your IP service provider, local police department and/or the FBI.

By following the steps above you will be able to help keep your children safe on the internet.  Remember, that this is an ongoing process.  Never let your guard down for a moment.  Make sure that the children are following your guidelines, and let them see that you are monitoring their online usage.  That way, the children will start being more careful about what they are doing online and start monitoring their own online behavior.

Have more tips for keeping our children safe online? Please share them in the comments below!

For more information about keeping your children safe on the internet, visit the sites below:

Kidshealth.org Internet Safety  http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/net_safety.html#

YouTube Video How to Keep Your Kids Safe Online http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=Q9dC_ekyD64

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) of 1998  http://www.ftc.gov/ogc/coppa1.htm