Internet Safety

Quick to implement internet safety ideas for your family.

Please also take the time to read through NetSmartz' guide, and introduce your young children or older children to the age-appropriate content they have there, as well.

  1. Our number one rule for kids on computers:
    Don't send them online alone - guide them, teach them, monitor them.

  2. Keep the computer in a central area. Only allow internet use when parents are home.

  3. Familiarize yourself with the abbreviated language used online. For instance, POS means "parent over shoulder" and TTYL means "talk to you later."

  4. Young children's email accounts and network accounts should be in your name, with user-names that do not identify the primary user as a child. For older kids, insist on having the password to their accounts, and be sure to monitor them regularly.

  5. Familiarize yourself with the real risks children, and adults, face on the internet, and have honest discussions with your kid about what to do if they see something that makes them uncomfortable, or if someone approaches them inappropriately.

  6. Don't apologize for being protective. If you feel something was inappropriate, contact the CyberTipline, and register the questionable username at Bad Screen Names.