What Can Parents Do?

• Keep an open communication with your child about their online activities. Have a positive discussion with your child about Internet safety.
• Start this communication as early as possible and age appropriately, e.g.
  • What’s your favorite thing to do online?
  • Show me the funniest YouTube video.
  • Let’s play your favorite online game.
•  Some things you can ask are:
  •  What sites will you visit?
  •  Who will you be talking to online?
  •  How long will you be online?
•  Instruct your child:
  • To never arrange a face-to-face meeting with someone they met online;
  • To never upload or post pictures of themselves onto the Internet or onto an online service for people they do not personally know;
  • To never give out identifying information, such as their name, home address, school, or phone number;
  • To never download pictures from an unknown source, as there is a good chance there could be sexually explicit images;
  • To never respond to messages or bulletin board postings that are suggestive, obscene, belligerent, or harassing;
  • That whatever they are told online may or may not be true;
  • To not respond to offensive or dangerous email, chat, or other communication;
  • To tell you if they see something that makes them feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused; and
  • To keep the offensive or dangerous posts as evidence and contact your local law enforcement.
• Keep the computer in a common area
• Monitor your child’s online activities
• Be aware of what your child is posting online
• Consider time limitations on electronic communication
• Become computer literate and get to know the services your child uses
• Consider using filtering or monitoring software for your computer
• Share an email account with your child so you can view his or her emails