We’ve referenced this site before but it needs repeating. Here is a great reference for Internet Safety tips, tools and resources.

From  ConsumerReports.org : The Federal Trade Commission recently put together an excellent program for keeping kids safe online. Their brochure, “Net Cetera – Chatting with Kids About Being Online,” is available free from the FTC by visiting their OnGuard Online website. Hard copies are also available for schools. 

The Net Cetera brochure is chock full of a good advice for parents and caregivers. “We wrote Net Cetera to encourage parents to communicate their own values to their kids,” said Carolyn Shanoff, director of consumer and business education for the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “When parents are upfront about their values and how they apply in the online world, kids are more likely to make thoughtful decisions when they face tricky situations.” Here are just some of the tips:    

•    Talk to your kids as soon as they start using a computer, cell phone, or any other mobile device. Explain about the dangers of Internet use, perhaps by discussing news stories about cyber bullying and the like.

•    Keep the computer in a common area of your home, not a private one, so your child is cognizant of potential parental supervision while she surfs the Web.  

•    Check the sites your children are visiting to make sure they’re appropriate, and review the sites’ privacy policies. Find out what information a website wants from your child; websites are required to get parental authorization to collect personal information on a child. 

•    Review your child’s friends list on social networking sites, and have her “friend” you so you can see who she is communicating with.

•    Set the parental controls on the computer to filter out inappropriate websites, and privacy settings to restrict who can access and post on your child’s social media profile. 

•    Explain to your kids why they should post only information that they are comfortable with others seeing. Discuss how their electronic communications leave “footprints” that can’t be erased.

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