Cyberbullying and Internet Safety

1. Cyberbullying and Internet Safety

2. Online Rules • Never share your personal information(like name, age or location). • Never share your password. • Don’t download games or programs , even if they’re free without getting parent’s permission first. • Don’t click on anything that pops up in another window • Always be polite and think before you type • Never chat with someone who isn’t your friend in real life.

3. Cyberbullying • Keep your home computer in a busy area of your house. • Set up email and chat accounts with your children. Make sure that you know their screen names and passwords and that they don't include any personal information in their online profiles. • Regularly go over their instant messenger "buddy list" with them. Ask who each person is and how your children know him or her. • Print this list of commonly used acronyms in instant messenger and chat rooms from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and post it by your computer. • Discuss cyberbullying with your children and ask if they have ever experienced it or seen it happen to someone. • Tell your children that you won't blame them if they are cyberbullied. Emphasize that you won't take away their computer privileges - this is the main reason kids don't tell adults when they are cyberbullied.

4. Social Networking None of this technology is inherently dangerous, and if it’s safely used it can be a great creative outlet for young people and a way to get them excited about technology. However, many young people are sharing too much information online and aren’t aware that anyone with an internet connection can view it - even pedophiles, employers, teachers, their school nemesis, and you. As a parent, you can teach your children how to safely use social networking websites and make sure that they do.

5. Talk to your kids about the risks. • Explain that online information and images can live forever. It can be very hard and sometimes impossible to take down information that is posted, and photos and information may already have been copied and posted elsewhere. • Tell your children not to post any identifying information online. This includes their cell phone number, address, hometown, school name, and anything else that a stranger could use to locate them. • Explain that anyone in the world can access what they post online. Tell your children that some college admissions boards and employers are checking social networking sites before they admit students or hire people. • Remind your children never to give out their passwords to anyone but you – not even their friends. Explain that if someone has their password, they could post embarrassing and unsafe information about them on their personal pages and even pose as your children to talk to other people. • Make sure that children understand that some people they meet online may not be who they say they are. Explain that on the Internet many people are not truthful about their identity and may even pretend to be someone else. It’s important to stress that young people should never meet people face-to-face that they met online.

6. How You Can Help • Have your children tell you if they ever see anything online that makes them feel uncomfortable. Make sure they understand that you won’t blame them. • Ask them to come to you if anything happens online that hurts or scares them. Tell them that you won’t hurt or punish them by banning them from the internet – this is a big reason why many kids don’t talk to their parents about their online problems. • Report any cases of possible child sexual exploitation, no matter how small, to your local law enforcement. (Allen ISD)

7. What You Can Do • Ask to see your kids’ social networking profile and page. Make sure it doesn’t include revealing personal information or pictures. • Social networking websites let users set their profiles to private so that only their friends – usually defined as people that know their full name or email address – can contact them. Make sure your child’s profiles are set to private. • Remember, your child can easily create one “clean” profile for your eyes while maintaining a second, more personal profile or page. That’s why the conversation about personal information and online safety is likely more important than your personal inspection of their accounts. (Allen ISD)

8. Resources Allen Independent School District (Allen ISD), Counseling Department. Internet Safety Tips. Retrieved from http://www.allenisd.org/Page/138 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). (2006). The Internet and Your Family. Retrieved from http://safetynet.aap.org/internet.pdf AAP. (2007). Log on to Safety. Retrieved from http://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/Media/pages/Log-On-to-Safety.aspx

9. Rountree Counseling and Health Websites

10. Questions?