Staff Reports

SGV – We’ve heard horror stories about bullying, predators, inappropriate websites, and more.  We live in a cyber-space world, and it is wonderful to have a wealth of information about the world we live in at our fingertips in a moment’s notice.  But how do we keep our families safe, and our children aware of dangers on the Internet?

As a parent, it is your responsibility to make sure your child stays safe online.  There are many opportunities for pedophiles and con artists to reach children (and adults) through the Web, and our friends at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department have provided the following tips to help keep everyone safe.

• To get started, set aside time to explore the Internet with your child(ren). Explain that although a person may be alone in a room using the computer, once they are logged on, they are no longer alone.  Other people using the Internet can find out who you are and where you are. They can even tap into information in your computer.
• The best tool a child has for screening material found on the Internet is his or her brain. Teach children –as appropriate – about exploitation, pornography, hate literature, excessive violence, and other issues that concern you, so they know how to respond when they see this material.
• Choose and download a commercial online service that offers parental control features on all your devices. These features can block content that is not clearly marked as appropriate for children such as chat rooms, bulletin boards, news groups, and discussion groups, or access to the Internet entirely.
• Purchase blocking software and design your own safety system. Different packages can block sites by name, search for unacceptable words and block sites containing those words, block entire categories of material, and prevent children from giving out personal information.
• Monitor your children when they’re online and monitor the time they spend online.
• Teach your children to let you know immediately if they find something scary or threatening on the Internet.
• Children should never provide their name, address, telephone number, school name, parents’ names, passwords, or any other personal information online.
• Children should never agree to meet face-to-face with someone they’ve met online.
• Children should never respond to messages that have bad words, seem scary, or just plain weird.
• Children should never agree to purchase goods or services online without your express permission.
• Children should never send a picture of themselves to anyone without your express permission.
• Children should understand that once a picture, message, or post is sent, it cannot be retrieved and will remain on the Internet virtually forever.
• Children should understand that it is okay to say no, and to never let anyone pressure them into doing something that feels uncomfortable.
• Children should understand that everything you read or see on the Internet is not necessarily true; people may not be who they appear to be.
• Parents can monitor access to the Internet at their children’s school.
• Parents can set reasonable rules for computer use and discuss it with children. Investigations have shown that children will likely have a social media page whether you approve or not, so it is imperative that they learn about Internet safety.
• Know your children’s friends and their parents. Talk to the parents to see what rules they have established for Internet access, monitoring and safety.
• If your child receives threatening emails or messages, or pornographic material, save the offensive information and contact your local law enforcement agency and the Internet service provider.
• If you come across sites that are inappropriate for children, or become aware of the transmission, use or viewing of child pornography while online, report it to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.