A Parent's Guide to Keeping Kids Safe Online
- 3. 1. Make a list of trusted peers/adults that your child can talkto in an uncomfortablesituation.
2. Set rules for your home anduse a Family Media Agreement
4. Discuss practice scenarios
Develop
a safety
plan
3. Ask questions & probe theirunderstanding
- 4. Family Media Rules
- Mutual responsibilities
- Age appropriate
- Download from:
CommonSenseMedia.org
- 5. -What are your friends doing online?
-What are the coolest or newest websites?
-Can you show me your favorite sites? Do you know:
-where reporting functions are?
-how to block someone?
-how to keep information private?
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CHILD
- 7. • If the request makes you uncomfortable,
don’t respond to the message.
• If the person continues to try to make
contact, tell a friend or trusted adult.
• If you feel that the person is truly
trustworthy and want to meet them, ask a
trusted adult to go with you.
• Never disclose personal information, such
as your phone number or where you live.
• If you’d like, you can also talk to someone
anonymously by calling the CyberTipline
at 1-800-843-5678.
Agreeing on specific action steps
ahead of time can save youth the
difficulty of trying to figure out
what to do in the moment
You met a really nice
girl/guy online, but
they live a few hours
away. One day they
message you and say
that they’re coming to
your town for the day.
They want to meet you
at the mall.
- 9. IN CASE OF EMERGENCY
collect passwords & store them in a sealed envelope
- 11. OS parental controls
software controls
prevent unwanted content
from entering your computer
mobile device filters
restrict what your kids have
access to on mobile devices
Browser-specific solutions
filter out websites you don't
want your kids to visit.
ROUTER SOLUTIONS
prevent unwanted content
from entering your home
TechnologyTools
Open DNS
- 12. OS parental controls
• Apps: Specify which apps the child
can access.
• Web: Limit access to websites, or
allow unrestricted access.
• People: Restrict a child’s contact
with other people through Game
Center, Mail, and Messages.
• Time Limits: Set time limits for
weekdays, weekends, and bedtime.
• Other: Hide profanity in the
dictionary and other sources. Block
using the built-in camera, Dictation,
burning CDs and DVDs, or changing
the password or printer settings.
- 13. Choose General, then Restrictions.
Enable Restrictions & enter a
password your kids won’t guess.
Under the Allow section, switch
anything to “off” you want to
disable completely.
Under the Allowed Content tab,
change the settings for Music &
Podcasts, Movies, TV Shows and
Apps to your preferred level.
Set Apps to 12+ or less, to prevent
children from installing unfiltered
browsers, which are rated 17+.
Mobile device filters
For Android devices: Menu > Content Filtering > Choose your filters
- 14. Disable Location Services
- Talk about safety risks
- Ask if your kid knows
how to disable this
- Ask if your kid knows
whether it is enabled
- Check their posts
location icon
- 15. Helps kids resist
sexts and peer
pressure with
funny comebacks.
Also provides
advice on dealing
with sexting crises.
Useful
apps:
Zipit
- 18. • Become a ‘friend/follower’ of your kid’s social media
accounts. But remember that they can block you.
• Have your youth use your app store account or an
account linked to your email, so you’ll be notified when
an app is downloaded.
• Set hard boundaries on pieces of info that
should never be shared publicly, such as a
personal phone number or home address.
Additional Ideas: