Parents:

There are some excellent resources on the Canyon ISD website for you and your children to learn about Internet safety.   Some of these sites are informational and others are interactive sites where your children can play games to learn about Internet safety.   These sites are outlined on the parent tab.   Look under Internet Safety and you will find several good sites.  Here are some suggested sites for parents concerning Internet Safety:

• https://www.commonsensemedia.org/social-media/what-are-the-basic-social-media-rules-for-middle-schoolers
• https://protectyoungeyes.com/internet-safety-cheat-sheet/
• https://protectyoungeyes.com/whats-right-age-social-media/
• https://www.commonsensemedia.org/social-media

One of the sites listed safety tips for Kids and for Parents.  Here are just a few tips to help you have discussions with your children about Internet Safety.

Safety Tips for Kids from GetNetWise.org

• Don’t give out information about yourself like your last name, your phone number, where you live, or where you go to school – without asking your parents first.
• Never e-mail a picture of yourself to strangers.
• If someone says something to you, sends you something, or you see something that makes you uncomfortable, don’t look around or explore; get your parents instead-they know what to do.
• Making plans to meet your Internet buddies in real life is usually a really bad idea-how people are in real life can be very different from how they are online. If you decide to do it anyway, have your Mom or Dad help make the plans and go with you.
• Don’t open emails, files, or Web pages that you get from people you don’t really know or trust.
• Don’t EVER give out your password, except to responsible adults in your family.
• Always follow your family’s rules for the Internet- they’re there to make sure you have fun and stay safe online.
• Don’t ever do anything that could cost your family money unless your parents are there to help you do it.

Safety Tips for Parents from Netsmartz.org

• Clear, simple, easy-to-read house rules should be posted on or near the monitor. Create your own computer rules or print the Internet safety pledge. The pledge can be signed by adults and children and should be periodically reviewed.
• Look into safeguarding programs or options your online service provider might offer. These may include monitoring or filtering capabilities.
• Always read a web site’s privacy policy before giving any personal information. Make sure that a website offers a secure connection before giving credit-card information.
• Websites for children are not permitted to request personal information without a parent’s permission. Talk to children about what personal information is and why you should never give it to people online.
• If children use chat or e-mail, talk to them about never meeting in person with anyone they first “met” online.
• Talk to children about not responding to offensive or dangerous e-mail, chat, or other communications. Report any such communication to local law enforcement. Do not delete the offensive or dangerous e-mail; turn off the monitor, and contact local law enforcement.
• Keep the computer in the family room or another open area of your home.
• Get informed about computers and the Internet. Visit the resources section to find additional information on Internet safety.
• Let children show you what they can do online, and visit their favorite sites.
• Have children use child-friendly search engines when completing homework.
• Know who children are exchanging email with, and only let them use chat areas when you can supervise. NetSmartz recommends limiting chatroom access to child-friendly chat sites.
• Be aware of any other computers your child may be using.
• Internet accounts should be in the parent’s name with parents having the primary screen name, controlling passwords, and using blocking and/or filtering devices.
• Children should not complete a profile for a service provider, and children’s screennames should be nondescript so as not to identify that the user is a child.
• Talk to children about what to do if they see something that makes them feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused. Show them how to turn off the monitor and emphasize that it’s not their fault if they see something upsetting. Remind children to tell a trusted adult if they see something that bothers them online.
• Consider using filtering or monitoring software for your computer. Filtering products that use whitelisting, which only allows a child access to a preapproved list of sites, are recommended for children in this age group. NetSmartz does not advocate using filters only; education is a key part of prevention. Visit the resources section for websites that provide information on filtering or blocking software.
• If you suspect online “stalking” or sexual exploitation of a child, report it to your local law-enforcement agency. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) has a system for identifying online predators and child pornographers and contributing to law-enforcement investigations. It’s called the CyberTipline^®. Leads forwarded to the site will be acknowledged and shared with the appropriate law-enforcement agency for investigation.