Parenting/Internet

CHILD ABUSE

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Internet Safety Tips for Families

Ask your Internet provider about features that allow parents to block their children's access to adult-oriented sites, chat rooms, and bulletin boards. A variety of programs are available.

Set up guidelines that deal specifically with meeting people on the Internet. Talk to your children about what to do if their new Internet friend asks to see them in person or wants your their picture, phone number or address.

Let your children know that they can and should come to you if they are receiving messages that they don't understand or if the message make them feel uncomfortable.

Keep the computer in a high traffic room of the house so you can monitor your children's activities without appearing to be watching over their shoulders. Talk with them about computer use at school or at the library.

Spend time on the Internet with your children. Give them a chance to show you what they have learned, what they like and how they look for what they would like to find on the Internet.

Teach your children about "netiquette" (etiquette on the Internet), so they will know how to behave appropriately on the Internet and will be able to recognize inappropriate behavior on the part of others.

Signs that Your Child may be at Risk Online

Your child spends extensive time online, especially at night.

You find pornography on your child's computer.

Your child receives phone calls from someone you don't know or is making calls, sometimes long distance, to numbers you don't recognize.

Your child receives mail, gifts or packages form someone you don't know.

Your child turns off the computer monitor or quickly changes the screen when you come into the room.

Your child becomes withdrawn.

Your child is using an online account that belongs to someone else.

What to Do if You Suspect Your Child is Communicating with an E-predator Online:

Talk openly with your children about your suspicions and tell them the dangers of computer sex offenders.
Teach your children to tell anyone who contacts them that they are a juvenile and they are going to tell an adult about the encounter.
Review the contents of your children's computer, including temporary web files. If the temporary files are always empty, contact an expert.
Use caller ID to monitor the people calling your children's phone calls and to monitor their long distance phone calls.
Monitor your children's access to all types of live electronic communications like chat rooms, instant messages and e-mail. Many cell phones also have the capability of instant messages.
Contact law enforcement if anyone in your household has received child pornography or if your child has been solicited in any way by someone who knows the child is under 18.

Source: Information compiled from the FBI's A Parent's Guide to the Internet and Prevent Child Abuse America's Internet Safety Tips for Families and keeping Kids Safe on the Internet