The Internet is the most advanced and accessible resource tool ever developed. With the Internet, a simple keystroke can deliver the world’s great museums and libraries into your living room. However, there also inherent risks, concerns and dangers associated with Internet use, so we are providing you with some common sense steps that you can apply to reduce the risk of exploitation or even criminal activity.
I will not give out personal information such as my address, telephone number, parents’ work address or telephone number, or the name and location of my school without my parents’ permission.
I will tell my parents right away if I come across any information that makes me feel uncomfortable.
I will never agree to get together with someone I "meet" online without first checking with my parents. If my parents agree to the meeting, I will be sure that it is in a public place and bring my mother or father along.
I will never send a person my picture or anything else without first checking with my parents.
I will not respond to any messages that are mean or in any way make me feel uncomfortable. It is not my fault if I get a message like that. If I do, I will tell my parents right away so that they can contact the online service.
I will talk with my parents so that we can set up rules for going online. We will decide upon the time of day that I can be online, the length of time I can be online, and appropriate areas for me to visit. I will not access other areas or break these rules without their permission.
Parents
Education and awareness are your greatest tools in promoting and ensuring safe and positive online activity. Learn about and discuss the boundaries of Internet use with your children. Establish reasonable rules and guidelines and post them near the computer as a reminder.
Placing the computer in a common area of your home promotes the Internet as a family activity and allows you to regularly monitor your children’s online use.
Remember, the Internet is not an electronic babysitter so limit the amount of time your children can surf the Internet daily to about one hour.
Although blocking software provides a reasonable means of limiting your children’s online accessibility, it should not be considered foolproof.
You can always monitor online activity by checking up on your children’s bookmarks, cache or history.
Remember, you cannot assume that everybody online is who he or she says they are. Twelve-year-old Sally might very well be sixty-year-old Chester the molester.
Remember, everything you read online is not true. Any offer that’s “Too good to be true” probably is.
If you believe that someone online is trying to lure or harm your child, contact local law enforcement and the FBI. It is a crime to lure children on the Internet.
If you become aware of the transmission, use, or viewing of child pornography while online, immediately report this to local law enforcement and the FBI.
