ONLINE Safety 101

In this Internet Age all of us must do our part to keep our children safe as they continue to communicate with tools we could not have imagined. At school, we educate students about the dangers of giving out personal information on the Internet; about the consequences of misuse and about the expectations the school has for appropriate use of this powerful tool. As educators, we will continue to do our part to protect children. In a way, we may have an easier time of it than parents because we can deny email, chat rooms and block inappropriate sites. For parents it is much more complicated. Please take the time to learn more about the world children communicate in and what you, as parents, can do to help keep them safe. Below you will find some tips for both parents and teens from the AdCouncil.
What Parents Can Do:
Limiting your children's computer time is not enough to safeguard them on the Internet.

Prepare your children for the online world by talking with them about the benefits and dangers on the Internet.

Establish guidelines and rules.

Know who communicates with your children.

Learn about the Internet and the programs your children are using. Consider using Internet filters or blocks.

Place the family's computer in a common room where supervision guidelines are met.

Explain to your children that Instant Messenger (IM) is only for chatting with school and family friends who they know by face and are approved by you.

Reinforce that people are not always who they say they are when online.

Make sure your children know how dangerous it is to give out personal information such as their name, mailing address or e-mail address.

Stress the fact that it is not safe to meet up in person with someone they "met" online.

What Teens Need To Look Out For Online:
Be wary of places where you can communicate directly with other people online such as chat room, instant messaging, peer-to-peer networks, forums, bulletin boards or even email. People who try to communicate with you using any of these methods aren't always who they seem to be. Be careful about whom you talk to and don't give out your personal information.

What Teens Can Do:
While you may interact with many different people online, it's important to remember to keep yourself safe. Not everyone tells the truth online. Here are some rules to help you surf safer:

Never give anyone you meet online any personal information such as: your real name, phone number, address, a photo of yourself, the name of the school you attend or any other information that someone could use to identify you.

Not everyone tells the truth online. Be careful about believing what people you meet online say. If something someone tells you seems to good to be true, it probably is.

Don't meet anyone you first interacted with online. If you click onto a site that contains any information that makes you feel uncomfortable you can: close your browser, hit your home button or type in the URL of another site you'd rather go to.

Don't respond to anything you receive that makes you feel uncomfortable. Tell your parents if: someone sends you inappropriate or sexually explicit material, asks you for information you feel uncomfortable giving to them, or asks you to keep something they said a secret from your parents.

(Excerpt from the Ad council, www.adcouncil.org)