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Welcome!
Welcome to the December, 2005 Edition of Salem Safe Kids
News!
As
the year winds down, it's time to look back at our successes in
2005 and plan ahead for 2006. Thankfully, the second half
of 2005 was event-free with an end to the type of activity that
caused Salem Safe Kids to come into being.
A
proactive approach by our community, including citizens, the
business community and our public servants all
contributed.
Our
hope is for a safe holiday season and a 2006 that is safe for
all!
Salem Safe Kids
Internet
Safety Tips
With
winter here and in full swing, many kids are spending more time
inside in front of a computer. Firm and enforced guidelines for
your children as they venture online is a must. We've dedicated
month of this months edition of SSK News to Internet safety.
Know
the Rules!
Internet Safety Quiz for Adults
1. Where is the best place to locate your family computer?
A. Child’s bedroom
B. Family room
C. Home office in remote area of house
Answer B. The safest location for the computer is in a room where there is sufficient adult supervision.
2. Which is the best example of how to protect your children online?
A. Post clear, simple, easy-to-read house rules on or near the monitor and supervise
your child’s online activity
B. Only allow your child to use the computer at the public library or school
C. Do not allow your child to “surf” the Internet without having a friend nearby
Answer A. Posting clear, simple, easy-to-read house rules is an excellent way to set boundaries for your
child’s Internet use. The rules can be signed by you and your child and should be periodically reviewed.
Visit www.NetSmartz.org for examples of rules
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Internet
Safety Quiz for Adults
Continued...
At this site you can also find safety tips and definitions to
help you better understand the many different areas of the world wide web. Remember that nothing beats
your supervision of and attention to what your children do while online.
3. Your children are completely safe if they only visit child-friendly chatrooms. True or False?
Answer False. Although it is recommended that your child only visit child-friendly sites, realize that
anyone can access these sites. Child predators have been known to entice children in child-oriented
chatrooms. Nothing can replace your supervision.
4. What should you do if your children tell you that someone they have “met” online has asked for their
telephone number and wants to meet them in person?
A. Take away their computer privileges
B. Praise them for being honest with you about this information, and discuss with them the reasons why it is
unsafe to meet in person with someone they have first met online without your supervision
C. Tell them that it’s okay to meet their friend as long as you know where they are going
Answer B. Rewarding your child for being forthcoming with information is an excellent way to keep the
lines of communication between you open. Furthermore, your acceptance and praise of this may
encourage them to report incidents to you in the future. You should remind your child not to give out
personal information or meet anyone in person without your prior knowledge and consent. If you want to
consider a meeting, ask to talk to the other child’s parents. If you agree to the meeting, accompany your
child and meet with the other child and his or her parents in a public place.
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Always
Remember...
"Safe
surfing" is a family affair. As a parent, it's
all about being informed, Internet savvy, and open to
the possibilities of the online world for you and
your child.
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A
Plan Against Inappropriate Material
What should you do if
your children encounter material online that makes
them feel scared or uncomfortable?
Even if your children
follow all of the guidelines you've established, it's
still possible that they might encounter inappropriate
material online. Your kids should always feel
comfortable about telling you what they've seen. Try
not to respond in a way that blames them. They should
understand that encountering this kind of material is
not their fault. What to do with inappropriate online
material depends in large part on its delivery format.
Web sites:
Remind your child of the use of the "back"
button. If they come upon a site that isn't what
they'd expected, he/she should click "back"
immediately and then come tell you what happened. If a
web site is misrepresenting itself, complain to the
creator of the site.
Email:
If your child receives an email message from an
unfamiliar address, they shouldn't read it and should
tell you about it. If it's something inappropriate and
unsolicited, request of the message's source that they
delete your child's email address from their database.
If this becomes an ongoing problem, complain to your
Internet service provider.
Chat Rooms:
We strongly recommend that you actively monitor your
children while they participate in online chats (more
so than any other online activity). Yahoo! Chat users
have the ability to Ignore specific chatters, which
helps to prevent any one chatter from becoming an
ongoing problem for your child. Additionally, you can
control the language your child sees with the Language
Filter.
Also explore the
options provided by moderated chats. Inappropriate
messages are uncommon in moderated chats. If there are
any problems, an email to the moderator usually takes
care of the offender immediately. Additionally,
whether moderated or not most chat rooms have an email
address you can use to complain about someone
offensive, and many allow you to block incoming
messages from a specific user.
Source-
Yahooligans Safety Tips.
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Happy
Holidays from SSK!
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