Internet Guidelines for Parents

1. Create internet guidelines for your children while at home (that might be similar to the ones they have at school with some other rules added regarding chat rooms, etc-sa)
2. Teach children to not communicate with people online that they do not know. You never know who is truly sitting behind that computer screen. Also keep the lines of communication open, ask who they communicate with and make sure you know who they are. Also, explain the risks behind meeting online friends.
3. Use parental controls (age appropriate) for children so that they do not access sites that are inappropriate or can be “dangerous” to the child.
4. Encourage your children to talk to you if they stumble onto something that is uncomfortable them , illegal, or unsafe.
5. Keep the computers, tablets in a visible part of the house. No tablets or computers in the bedrooms whenever possible
6. Be sure to explain to your child the steps to take when being bullied:  Do not respond, Save the evidence, and Block the bully. Save the evidence, Block the bully.
7. Check and monitor the browsing history of the child, if a child is searching for something he or she should not be, you will see it here. This is important because even if the sites searched for are getting blocked by the parental controls, eventually there may be a site similar that is not.
8. Explain to your children what could be found online, and why those sites are not appropriate for them, or their friends, to be on. Let your child know that they are safe to tell you if they happen to come upon those types of content, and that it’s important for you to know so that you don’t feel your child is hiding anything from you.
9. Explain the importance of not speaking to strangers online, and the dangers involved with those conversations. Include why we never share our address or phone numbers in conversations with strangers. Consider showing your child examples of what happens to children who partake in these kinds of conversations, and how dangerous it really can be.
10. Talk to your children about internet safety, this subject should include what is appropriate to browse and what may be too mature for them based on their age.  While talking to them Norton suggest to ask these 5 questions each year:

1. “What are you friends doing online?”
2. “What are the coolest sites and what sites are becoming less popular?”
3. “Can you show me these sites?”
4. “What do you know about cyberbullying?”
5. “When you have been online is there anything that you have seen that makes you feel uncomfortable?”
6. Other Questions: Do you know everyone on your friends list? Do you get messaged by strangers, what do you do? Etc. https://us.norton.com/the-talk/article