Keeping safe from nicotine

In the long term, teaching the dangers of nicotine to children is likely to save more of their lives than any other subject. The State of New York has compelling information online at their “Smokers’ Quitsite” under the subject Nicotine . . . Friend or Foe? As the page says, “nicotine is an addictive drug.” Teaching children early on the deadly danger of smoking is very literally a safety measure against addiction. The Quitsite page on nicotine is material appropriate for school lessons and home discussion with kids. Other sections of the New York State website include many facts and ideas to equip young people against the smoking habit that has shortened many lives in earlier generations.

Teaching Internet safety

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children has assembled a large, varied and high quality resource of ideas and resources for teaching Internet safety. The materials are organized into four age-appropriate categories: Grades K-2, Grades 3-4, Grades 5-6, and Middle and High School. This range of resources can be accessed from the Online and Offline Activities page. The interactive Clicky tutorial shown above is for K-2. Additional categories of materials are offered in the Teach Internet Safety category of the website’s sidebar.

The trend among experts in the Internet safety field has been in recent years not to advocate prohibiting children from using the Internet, particularly not older kids. Instead, enormous efforts have been made to develop ways of teaching Internet safety. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children offers some of the best information and resources for teaching Internet safety. They also provide a great deal of good information and advice on other children’s safety subjects throughout their website.