If you are communicating with
someone through chat room, e-mail, or instant messages, NEVER give out
ANY personal information including your name, address, phone number,
age, sex, or grade. Don't send a picture to someone you don't
know.
Tell your parents immediately if someone
on-line asks for this information.
Remember that people can access the chat
rooms to find e-mail addresses to send spam (unwanted e-mail).
Don't use your primary ISP account if you go into a chat room.
Better yet, don't go in chat rooms at all!
Balance your use of a computer with reading
and sports activities.
The computer should be kept in a
public area such as the family room or play room. It should
not be in a private bedroom or study.
Watch your children when they are
on-line just as you'd watch them at a
park or at the mall.
Watch your child for signs of internet
abuse such as changes in behavior, spending excessive time online,
and acting secretive or defensive about online
activities.
Check out what you can do
to keep your child safe online at sites such as
http://www.safekids.com/ or
http://www.safeteens.com/.
Use kid safe search engines such as
http://www.yahooligans.com/ or
http://www.surfmonkey.com/.
Use filtering software that can track
sites your child has visited, block objectionable sites, and restricts
access to chat rooms and e-mail. You can find this type of
software at http://www.netnanny.com/ and
http://www.cybersitter.com/.
