Personal Safety
Children Online
Online Dangers to Kids
Child Safety Tips
Adult Safety
Online Dating
Meeting People
Cyberbullies
Social Networking
Phishing
Social Engineering

Computer Safety
Hackers
Passwords
Spyware
Backdoors
Keyloggers
Viruses
Antivirus
Firewalls
Spam
Hoaxes
Scams

Internet Manners
Netiquette
Copyrights & the Internet
Bandwidth Theft

 

Online Safety Tips for Parents and Children

1. Get the computer out of the children's bedroom.  Do not let your children surf alone.  Put the computer in a family room where Mom and Dad can keep an eye on what's going on.  I know this might cause a fuss, but predators love it when children are unsupervised.  With the computer in the bedroom and the door closed, how can you tell if some pervert is getting your child to pose nude in front of their webcam?
    
2. Participate with your child online.  Get to know the websites they visit, which programs they like to use, and how to use their favourite chat rooms and instant messaging programs.  Learn who the people on their buddy lists are.
    
3. Discuss with your children the times of day they can go online, and for how long.  Make sure the kids get a break from the computer to spend with family and friends.
    
4. Don't rely on filtering or blocking programs to keep unwanted information away from your kids (especially if the kids installed the programs themselves).  There are many good programs available, but nothing can replace a caring, concerned parent.  Besides, most kids can just Google® the information they need to get around such programs anyway.
    
5. Teach your kids not to give out personal information without a parent's permission.  That includes their names, passwords, family member's names, address, phone number, parent's place of work, school name, sports team names, community club names, email address, or photos of themselves.  Children should ask permission before filling out online forms, as well.
    
6. Your children should know not to believe everything they read online.  It's extremely difficult to tell when someone is lying to you online.  Even adults have problems with that.
    
7. Keep the lines of communication open.  Let your children know that if they come across anything online that makes them uncomfortable, or is wrong, they can come to you with it.  And don't freak out when they do come to you.  Be prepared to discuss situations in a calm, cool manner when they arise.
    
8. Teach your kids netiquette.  They should be polite in their dealings with other people online.  It's easy for people to take offence at something typed on the screen when they can't tell by body language that someone is making a joke.  Also, the best way of dealing with online bullies is to ignore them.
    
9. Tell your kids to delete email they receive from people they don't know.  It will help keep the computer safe against various types of viruses.  Also teach them to be careful about opening email attachments from anyone unless they are expecting them.
    
10. Let your kids know they can tell you if they want to meet someone from online in person.  Never let your kids invite a stranger to your home - especially if you aren't going to be home.  Arrange it so that the meeting is in a public place and that a parent will be coming along.

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Page last updated March 4, 2006