Internet Safety Tips for Parents and Children
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Create clear, simple, easy-to-read house rules and post near or on the monitor.
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Investigate into safeguarding programs or options your online service provides. These may include monitoring or filtering capabilities.
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Always read a web site's privacy policy before giving any personal information.
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Make sure that a web site offers a secure connection before giving credit-card information.
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Talk to children about what personal information is and why you should never give it to people online.
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Talk to children about never meeting in person with anyone they "met" online.
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Keep the computer in the family room or another open area of your home.
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Let children show you what they can do online, and visit their favorite sites.
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Have children use child-friendly search engines when completing homework.
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Know your children's e-mail contacts.
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Allow children chat use under your supervision.
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Be aware of all computers used by your child.
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Internet accounts should be in the parent's name with parents having the primary screenname, controlling passwords, and using blocking and/or filtering devices.
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Children should not complete a profile for a service provider.
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Children's screennames need to be nondescript so your child cannot be identified by his or her name.
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Talk to children about what to do if they see something that makes them feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused. Show them how to turn off the monitor. Remind children to tell a trusted adult if they see something that bothers them online.
Provided by the City of Thousand Oaks Police Department
Online Resources for Parents and Children
Child Safety on the Information Superhighway
Larry Magid, a syndicated columnist for the Los Angeles Times, gives tips for becoming street smart on the Web. His "Guidelines for Parents" explains how to deal with everything from suggestive or misleading content to the danger of online-arranged meetings with strangers.
Articles, advice, and best-of lists to keep kids safe online from Common Sense Media.
Set rules for online safety from Microsoft Security.
Practicing Internet safety is a must with anyone who goes online, but with kids it is especially important. This tutorial will discuss the threats your kids may encounter while online and show you how protect them and talk to them about being safe and responsible.
An online service of companies and non-profit groups concerned about child safety on the Internet. The Web site provides a comprehensive "Web-wide" resource with safety tips, ways to report online trouble, tech tools for families, great Web sites for kids and a glossary of Internet terms.
Internet safety for parents, children, and teens from KidsHealth.org.
Internet Safety Tips for Children and Teens
Internet Safety Tips for children and teens from the New York Public Library.
Internet Safety Tips for Kids and Teens
Internet Safety Tips for Kids and Teens from National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).
Internet Safety Tips for Parents and Kids
Resources for Parents from Family Online Safety Institute.
NetSmartz Workshop is an interactive, educational program of the NCMEC that provides age-appropriate resources to help teach children how to be safer on- and offline.
The Parents' Guide to the Information Superhighway
Rules and tools for families online from The Children's Partnership. Comprehensive look at the information superhighway and what parents should know to help their children use it safely and wisely.
Kids have lots of opportunities for socializing online, but they come with certain risks. Parents can help reduce these risks by talking to kids about making safe, responsible decisions.
Safety Tips for Kids on the Internet from the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Site focuses on online safety and ways to report abuses. A Parent's Guide to Internet Safety [PDF] from the FBI.
Library Policies
Thousand Oaks Library Internet Policy
Covers details surrounding the use of Library computers to access information on the Internet.
Download a copy of Internet Use Policy, Guidelines and Contract Brochure.
