Internet Safety Tips for Parents

Monitor Online Use Put the computer in a public area of your home. Observe and talk to your child about the sites visited. Encourage your child to tell you about anything strange or upsetting they may come across on the internet. Don’t overreact when they do or they may not tell you the next time.

Check the Browser If you really want to know what your child has been doing on the internet check the browser. To do this click on the down arrow near the web address area then click on history. This will give you a list of sites visited. If the browser history has been erased that tells you something, too!

Passwords are Important Parents should be in charge of online accounts and passwords for the family. Usernames for children should be nondescript and should not indicate that the user is a child. Talk to your child about not giving out passwords to anyone.

Keep Some Things Private Talk to your child about not giving out personal information on the internet, such as name, address, or phone number. Don’t allow your child to send photos to persons they only know from the internet. Sexual predators often pretend to be a child themselves.

Filters and Search Engines Consider adding an internet filter to your home computer to restrict your child to appropriate sites. Encourage your child to use child friendly search engines, such as Yahooligans.

Rules Are Needed Discuss rules for internet use with your child; such as what types of sites they can visit and what types of information they should not give out. Set up rules for when and how long your child can use the internet. Don’t use the internet as a babysitter.

Stranger Danger Explain to your child that persons they think they “know” on the internet could be anyone at all. Do not allow your child to meet with an internet “friend” without a parent present.

Netiquette Matters Teach your child about internet etiquette; Such as not typing in ALL CAPS, always including a subject line in e-mails and not forwarding e-mails without permission from the sender and receiver.

Cyberbullying Teach your child not to engage in any form of cyberbullying. The “Golden Rule” is always a good guide. Tell your child not to respond to a cyberbully, to block the sender and to tell an adult about the problem.

Sexting Many older children feel sexting, or sending sexual texts, e-mails and pictures, is OK. Sexting is not OK and may even result in your child being labeled a sexual predator if he/she sends out that type of material to others.

Online Predators Notify the police if someone your child meets online starts calling them, sending gifts, or trying to lure them from home.

Viruses Explain to your child that opening e-mails from unknown persons may cause your computer to be infected with computer viruses. Forwarding mass e-mails and even forwarding virus alerts may cause other computers to be infected.

Identity Theft Parents should check their credit card statements each month to make sure that no unauthorized charges are being made to their account by a stranger or their own child.

In Conclusion Know what your child is doing on the internet. Make sure they know how to be safe online and offline. Make internet safety an ongoing conversation in your home.

For More Information Go to the following website…. http://www.sbac.edu/~media/internet_safety_information.htm