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Create a list of Internet house rules with input from your kids. |
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Encourage your kids to visit only sites that you have approved. |
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Keep Internet-connected computers in an open area where you can easily supervise their use. |
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Investigate Internet-filtering tools (such as MSN Premium's Parental Controls) as a complement—not a replacement—for parental supervision. |
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Use kid-friendly search engines (such as MSN Kids Search) or search engines with parental controls. |
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Establish a shared family e-mail account with your Internet Service Provider rather than letting your kids have their own accounts. |
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Teach your kids to always come to you before giving out information through e-mail, chat rooms, message boards, registration forms, and personal profiles. |
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Teach your kids not to download software, music, or files without your permission. |
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Use e-mail filters to block messages from particular people, or those that contain specific words or phrases. |
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Don't allow your children to use instant messaging (IM) at this age. |
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Allow your kids to use only monitored chat rooms and message boards on reputable kids' sites. |
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Talk to your kids about their online friends and activities just as you would about their other activities in the real world where they will start to meet new people. |
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Talk to your children about healthy sexuality, because kids can easily come across adult content or pornography online. |
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Encourage your children to tell you if something or someone online makes them feel uncomfortable or threatened. Stay calm and remind your kids they are not in trouble for bringing something to your attention. Praise their behavior and encourage them to come to you again if the same thing happens. Read more about how to deal with online predators and cyberbullies. |
