Cyber Safety

Open communication with your child is vital. Your child needs to feel they can come to you if they encounter frightening communications or images.

Safety Tips

  • Keep young children away from any unaccompanied chatting.
  • Understand the technology. Open an account yourself, and get your whole family connected. If your child views the program as a way of staying in touch with family, there might be less risk of misuse with friends.
  • Model good video chat behavior. Show children how to be polite and respectful, and let them know that’s the behavior you expect.
  • Know who your child is communicating with online.
  • Teach your child never to open emails from unknown senders and to use settings on Instant Messaging (IM) programs to block messages from people they do not know.
  • Be aware of other ways your child may be going online—with cell phones, devices, or from friends’ homes or the library.
  • Tell your child not to share passwords with anyone but you to help avoid identity theft and cyber bullying.
  • Familiarize yourself with popular acronyms at sites like www.netlingo.com and www.noslang.com.


Teach Your Children The Following Rules

  • Do not fill out a profile without parent review and approval.
  • Never give out real name, telephone or cell phone number(s), mailing address, or passwords. Giving away personal information can lead to identity theft or worse.
  • Do not post photographs in publicly accessible sites. The settings for ANY social networking profiles should be PRIVATE and new friends are accepted only if they are known to the child AND parent.
  • Posting pictures online or sending images can have dangerous consequences.
  • Report Cyberbullying to an adult. (Cyberbullying refers to the practice of using technology to harass or bully someone.)