6 Rules for a Fun and Safe Online Social Life
Strategies to Help Your Kids Navigate Their Internet Connections
Is “Facebook” a verb in your house? Or perhaps your kids prefer Twitter or MySpace. The best way to make your family’s social networking experience a positive one is with open communication, says Cincinnati Children’s psychologist Lori Crosby, PsyD. “The most important thing is to open the dialogue and educate your kids about social networking sites,” she says. “Tell your teen what your expectations are.” She suggests families follow these guidelines to make the experience fun and safe.
Parents
- Agree to limits ahead of time. Talk about appropriate online behaviors and rules for your household, and educate kids about potential dangers. Pre-written contracts downloaded from the internet often help start the discussion.
- Tailor your internet monitoring to your child. Some parents create their own pages and become “friends” with their child. Others use monitoring or filtering software. Some of these track sites a user has visited. Others set time limits on internet use.
- Respect that this is a way teens communicate today. “Most teens will use these sites responsibly,” Dr. Crosby says.
Teens and Tweens
- Be honest, both with your age and with information and pictures you post online. Your friends can see your profiles, but so can parents, coaches, employers and even college recruiters. Don’t publish anything you wouldn’t want one of those people to see about you. Even if your page is marked private, there are ways that others may be able to access it, your avatar or photos.
- Be respectful of others. Never write something on your page that you wouldn’t say in person. If you need to vent, use an old-fashioned diary that you stash under your mattress.
- Don’t retaliate online. If someone bashes you on a Facebook page, report it to the web site as well as to a trusted adult. Don’t take matters into your own hands.
