Internet Safety Tips

l Encourage your kids to not provide personal information in profiles,

     emails, instant messaging screen names etc.

l If they encounter anything troublesome on the internet encourage them to notify you immediately.

l Know "where your kids are" when they are online.

l Know who they are talking to.

l   Most of all be involved.  

Predator Identification

l Know the signs to look for.

l Predators use chat rooms and screen names to gather identifying information.

l Their goal is to contact, communicate, entice and lure, entrap and exploit victims.

l Your child should be able to recognize inappropriate situations and learn how to avoid becoming the victim of an online predator.

To help keep your children safe on the Internet:

l Make sure you supervise your children's online activity.

l Keep the computer in a common area of the house, such as the family room, to make keeping a watchful eye a little easier.

l Make a habit of checking the computer's Internet history to find out where your children have been surfing.

l Invest in child-safe software, available at software or electronics stores and on the Internet. In chat rooms it is impossible to know whether the 12-year old at the other end of your child's conversation is really a child or a 43-year old man with not-so-honest intentions.

l Teach your children to NEVER give any personal identifying information, such as a full name, an address, phone number, school or favorite hangouts

l If your son or daughter has a profile such as myspace.com look it over carefully. 

l Know who all their friends are on their buddy list (ie instant messenger).

l   See what options your internet Service Provider offers to help keep your kids safe while online