Online Safety For Children

Don’t talk to or accept anything from strangers.

Who’s a stranger online? Everyone is! Yet we talk online in chat rooms and discussion groups all the time. It’s one of the most entertaining things we can do online. So how does this advice work online? Teach your children that anyone they don’t know offline is a stranger.

“Remember that the people you chat with online are not your friends, they are just people you chat with.”

You can chat with them, but never tell them anything that you would tell a friend. But this is the hardest thing for our children to remember. One of the biggest problems with cyberpredators is that they function in your home. Our kids feel safe with us seated nearby. Their stranger danger reflexes are not engaged.

I need to meet your friends.

We all heard this from our parents, and have said this to our own children. You’d never let your children spend time with real-life friends you hadn’t met, would you?

There are some special reasons to find out whom they are friends with online that don’t exist in real-life friendships. In real life our kids can spot the adults. In cyberspace they can’t. Most of the predators who are out to meet your child offline and who have something other than friendship on their minds- pretend to be children to get past their “stranger danger” radar screen.

Don’t say nasty things about other people.

Saying nasty things about other people in cyberspace is called “flaming.” It often violates the “terms of service” of your online service provider and will certainly get a reaction from other people online. If your child feels that someone is flaming them, they should tell you and the sysop (system operator, pronounced “sis-op”) or moderator in charge right away.

Be polite and respectful of others.

Chat rooms each have their own rules, too. Don’t barge in and start talking until you’ve had a chance to see what everyone’s discussing. Read the discussion thread for a while, instead of asking everyone what they were talking about. And be respectful of others and their opinions.

Don’t post the same message over and over. Other people’s time is valuable, and they don’t want to have to weed through the same messages you posted in tons of places. If someone helps you, say “thank you.”

Don’t tell people personal things about yourself.

You never really know whom you’re talking to. And even if you think you know whom you are talking to, there could be strangers lurking and reading without letting you know that they are there. It’s like writing your personal diary on a postcard.

With children especially, sharing personal information puts them at risk. Make sure your children understand what you consider personal information, and agree to keep it confidential online and everywhere else.

Remember that the Internet is more like the telephone than it is like the television. Use the same kind of safety measures you would use if your children were talking on the phone to a stranger.

By Parry Aftab