1. Follow the age guidelines provided by social networking websites. If you child is 13 do not allow them to join. If they are 14 then following the below suggestions:
2. Follow the safety guidelines provided by each site, but always talk to you teen before they register and design their profile. Keeping their profile private is essential.
3. If you have a young child it is recommended that they do not use chat rooms they are just too dangerous. If your children are old enough to be in chat rooms try to encourage monitored rooms. No private “one-on-one” chats. If you can install a monitoring software, it is highly recommended because without one you will Not know what is being said online.
4. AOL and some others have great parental controls built in - others do not - so it is good to check with your ISP to find out.
5. The computer should be in visible site to parents. No bedroom computers. When the computer monitor is visible to the common area of the household less is likely to happen. Sit with your child when they are online, this is a great opportunity for parents to see how much their children know about social networking sites and how they work.
6. Talk to them about not responding to IMs, emails and other private forms of communications from strangers. A household email address is recommended instead of private ones if your children are young.
7. Always remember if they are being monitored at home it doesn’t mean they are monitored at a friend’s house.
8. Never let them download any images from someone they do not recognize. Tell your child to tell immediately if something happens online to make them feel uncomfortable. The number one reason most parents have no idea if something suspicious or bad has happened is because kids don’t tell. It is never their fault and should be expressed to them that way.
9. Tell them never to reveal personal information about themselves or the family. MySpace has a place on their profile for school name, sexual orientation, age, and gender etc. You do not have to fill in answers to those sections.
