In 2002 the United Parents Group sponsored a program for parents on "Keeping Kids Safe on the Internet." It was presented in cooperation with the Abington and Cheltenham Police Departments. The advice listed below is adapted from that program and from publications from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. In 2003 UPG distributed a bookmark to every student in the Cheltenham School District which included the reminders for children on Internet safety. At the same time, UPG offered advice for parents on Internet safety for grades K-8 by sending a flyer to each household and for high school parents by publishing article on the topic in the CHS newsletter, Communications. Both the reminders for children and the advice for parents are presented below. Note that the bookmark and the flyer urge parents and children to communicate with one another about going online and about setting up the family's rules for going online.

Parents should post these Internet safety rules for their children near the computer:

• Do not give out your name, address, or phone number
• Do not give out your parents' work address or phone number
• Do not give out the name or location of your school
• Do not send out your picture or a family member's picture or agree to receive a picture of anyone without first checking with one of your parents
• Do not agree to get together with someone you have "met" online without taking along your mother or father
• If you receive a message that makes you feel uncomfortable, tell your parents right away
• Talk with your parents to set up your family's rules for going online: the time of day that you can be online, how long you can be online, and where you can "visit" online

Parents should follow this advice for the household:

• Set up guidelines about what your child can or cannot do online
• Encourage your child to come to you if he or she encounters a problem online
• Never respond to messages that are obscene or threatening
• Set an example to your child by being cautious about entering information about yourself at a Website, especially an address, telephone number, or photograph
• Know that if you E-mail a newsgroup, forum, or bulletin board, your E-mail address becomes available to thousands of people
• Never respond to unsolicited E-mail ("spam") even to request removal from the list. Although not a safety issue, responding to spam is more likely to increase the amount of junk E-mail you receive. Most spammers use the removal messages to confirm that an Email address is valid, making it more attractive to those to whom they sell their lists.
• Look into blocking and filtering programs, but don't depend on them to protect your child from all dangers
• If you encounter what you consider a serious threat online, contact the Cheltenham Police Department