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The internet is a big place. It can also be a great place to have fun and make friends. Before you start exploring different sites, it's important to learn a few tips to make sure that you stay safe while surfing.
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Talk with Your Parents
- If you're under the age of 18, have a talk with your parents or another adult you trust before you start making friends online.SafeKids.com: My Rules for Online Safety
- Make sure you and your parents agree on which websites you can visit.
- Talk about when and where it's OK for you to go online.
- Tell your parents the online safety rules you already know, and ask if they have any other rules they need you to follow.
Safety Tips
- Follow these important tips to stay safe online. If you happen to ever break one of these rules, let your parents know! They might get a little angry, but they need to know what's happening, and they'll be glad you told them.
- Don't ever give anyone you meet online your personal information.SafeKids.com: My Rules for Online Safety If your parents think it is OK to share your first name, then you can do that. But make sure never to tell anyone your full name, your address or city, your phone number, your e-mail address, your school name or any other personal information.
- Share "safe" thoughts when you are just getting to know someone.Children, Youth and Women's Health Service: Kids' Health: Making Friends
- According to Child and Youth Health, a safe thought is, "Something about school or TV or your favorite football team. It isn't always safe to tell someone you don't know very personal things about you, like things you might be worried about or afraid of."Children, Youth and Women's Health Service: Kids' Health: Making Friends
- If you ever see or receive anything online that makes you feel threatened, unsafe or uncomfortable, tell your parents right away.Milstein Child Safety Center: McGruff.org -- Staying Safe Online
- Delete e-mails or messages from people you don't know right away.WiredSafety: Kids, Safety Information, E-mail They might be spam or contain viruses to harm your computer.
- Don't ever share pictures or any other files with other people you meet online unless your parents have said it's OK.SafeKids.com: My Rules for Online Safety
- Friends that you meet online are fun, but you shouldn't ever arrange to meet them in person unless you have talked with your parents about it and you have a parent coming along for the meeting.wikiHow: How to Make Friends Online
- If you have a password to access your computer or other sites, don't share it with anyone except your parents, and try to change it often so that it's hard for other people to guess.WiredSafety: Kids, Safety Information, E-mail
- Ask your parents before downloading anything online, including music, movies or other files.SafeKids.com: My Rules for Online Safety
Making Friends
- Once you find a safe online place, you can start to make friends.
- Be kind to others and stay positive. You'll find lots of friends if others see you as a fun person.
- Ask questions about others to show that you are interested in them.Children, Youth and Women's Health Service: Kids' Health: Making Friends Try asking about favorite movies, music or hobbies.
- Develop friendships by sharing your own interests with others.wikiHow: How to Make Friends Online If you find a few people who like the same things you do, you will already have something fun to talk about.
- Don't feel bad if you have a little trouble at first or if your friendships don't turn out the way you wanted.Children, Youth and Women's Health Service: Kids' Health: Making Friends Sometimes it might take a while to find the people you will get along with best.
Great Places for Kids Online
- Remember to get your parents' permission before you go to any of these sites.
- Webkinz: A site where you can care for a virtual pet, play games, do activities and meet and talk with others.Webkinz: Welcome to Webkinz
- Neopets: Another place to choose and care for a virtual pet, play games and interact with others.Neopets: Welcome to Neopets!
- Club Penguin: Create your own penguin avatar in this virtual world where you can play games and have fun with other users.Club Penguin: Club Penguin
- HighlightsKids: This is the free web area for the popular magazine Highlights for Children. Here you can play games, send comments or messages and see other kids' comments and creative work.HighlightsKids.com: Welcome to HighlightsKids.com!
- KidsCom: Fun chat rooms, games and other activities just for kids.KidsCom: Safe Kids Chat Rooms
- MySpace: If you're a teen or tween, MySpace is a good way to build your own profile and connect with your friends. Make sure you set your privacy settings so that non-friends can't see your page.MySpace: MySpace
- Facebook: For teens and older, Facebook is a great place to make a profile, stay in touch with friends, leave messages and personalize a page of your own. Again, make sure to configure your privacy settings so that non-friends can't see your personal information.Facebook: Welcome to Facebook!
For Parents
- Take an active role in discussing what your child does online. Keep open lines of communication between you and your child so that your child always feels that it is OK to come talk with you about possible problem situations.
- Block content or set parental controls on your home computer if you are worried about your child accessing unsafe sites.Microsoft: Web Security: Tips to Protect Kids Online
- Don't be afraid to contact sites your child frequents if you feel that those sites have problems to fix or issues that make you worry. Usually, the kind of sites that appeal to kids want to cooperate with parents to do everything possible to keep kids safe online.University of Oklahoma Police Department: Police Notebook: Keeping Kids Safe Online
- Check your browser history often so you can keep track of where your kids go online and what they are doing.Microsoft: Web Security: Tips to Protect Kids Online
