1. Keep the computer in a common area of the house.
This is probably the most important thing you can do. Do not let your children be in their rooms all night on the Internet. The mere presence of parents can have a tremendous effect on child’s online activities. It’s much more difficult for a computer sex offender to communicate with a child when the computer screen is visible to a parent or other member of the household.
2. Monitor your children’s online activity and view the websites that they are on. Limit your child to specific chatrooms.
You must set guidelines about what your children can and cannot do on the Internet. Try to understand their needs, interests and curiosity. But you must set limits on when they may use the Internet, how long they may stay online, and what websites are and are not acceptable. Computer sex offenders often wait for their victims in online chatrooms and especially like using instant messaging as it is not easily stored or saved.
3. Talk to your children about the dangers of online predators surfing the Internet.
Teach your children about sexual victimization and other potential dangers of the Internet. Talk openly and honestly with your children about what they are doing on the Internet and what your concerns are for them.
4. Search out for online parental controls and blocking software.
Most Internet Service Providers have parental controls. Use them! Other filtering and monitoring software programs can be purchased separately. Use filters to block access to objectionable material. Monitoring software can show a history of your computers’ use so you can easily see where your children have been on the Internet.
5. Teach your children, “Don’t talk to strangers!” . . . also means: “Don’t chat with strangers!”
Let your children know they can never be sure who they are talking to online and that people are not always who they say the are. Let them know that sometimes adults pretend to be children online or act like their “buddy” to get something from them.
6. Teach your children to never give out personal information.
Let your children know to never give an online stranger their name, home address, telephone number, or school name. They should be aware that even naming a friend, local sports team, shopping mall, or community event could give information about their identity.
7. Instruct your children to never arrange to meet a person face-to-face.
Instruct your children to immediately let you know if someone they have chatted with online wants to meet them face-to-face, even if they think it is only another child or a harmless contact. Let them know that they can approach you and tell you these kinds of things.