The Internet is a place to work, play and learn for adults and children alike. We should also be concerned about the risks we face while being online. The challenge is to stay “one-click” ahead of would-be pornographers, hackers, child-predators and anyone who would misuse your and your child’s sensitive information.
TIPS FOR PARENTS
- Learn about computers so you can monitor your child’s use.
- Spend quality time with your children, thereby reducing their dependency on computer technology for recreation, communication, and companionship.
- Keep the computer in a common area of the house.
- Don’t EVER allow a child to give out personal information on-line, not real name, address or phone number.
- Don’t allow a child to meet someone face-to-face they have met on-line.
- Remember that people on-line may not be who they seem, a “12-year-old-girl” may actually be a “40 year old man”.
- Though they are not fool proof, consider purchasing and installing a pornography blocking software package.
- Periodically check the Web sites your children are visiting and look at files they are storing.
- If you become aware of the transmission, use, or viewing of child pornography while online, immediately report this to the US Customs Cyber Smuggling Center at 1-800-BE ALERT or email [email protected].
TIPS FOR KIDS
- Do not give personal information such as your address, telephone number, parent’s work address or telephone number, or the name and location of your school.
- Tell your parents if something that you come across online makes you feel uncomfortable.
- Never agree to get together with someone you “meet” online without your parents’ permission.
- If your parents agree to the meeting, be sure to meet only in a public place and that your parents go with you.
- Never respond to messages or bulletin board items that are suggestive, obscene, belligerent, threatening, or make you feel uncomfortable.
- Give a copy of such messages to your parents and have them forward it to your Internet Service Provider.
- Never send pictures of yourself or any other personal material to a friend you meet online without telling your parents first.
- Follow the rules that your parents set for your online activities.
- There are places on the Internet that are for adults only. If you find yourself in one of those areas LEAVE and go to one of the cool places on the Internet for kids.
- Don’t give out personal information about your family situation, school, telephone number, or address.
- When chatting in chat rooms, remember that not everyone is who they say they are, for example a person who says “she” is a 14-year-old girl from New York may really be a 42-year-old man from California.
- If someone harasses you online, says anything inappropriate, or does anything that makes you feel uncomfortable, tell your parents right away.