Online Safety Tips

Livia Web Protection provides a much needed layer of Internet security for your home. However, parents and children need to maintain open communication about how the Internet is being used, the dangers to look out for and much more. Following are some helpful tips to keep in mind.

Tips for your Children

  • Do not give out personal information such as an address, telephone number, parents’ work address or telephone number, or the name and location of school without your parents’ permission.
  • Tell your parents or a trusted adult right away if you come across any information that makes you feel uncomfortable.
  • Never get together with someone you "meet" online without first checking with your parents. If your parents agree to the meeting, be sure that it is in a public place and bring a parent or trusted adult along.
  • Never send a person your picture or anything else without first checking with your parents.
  • Do not respond to any messages that are mean or in any way make you feel uncomfortable. It is not your fault if you get a message like that. If you do, tell your parents or a trusted adult right away so that they can contact the online service.

Tips for Parents

  • Because we use the Internet in different ways, children and adults can learn from each other. By talking about Internet use with your children, you are opening the door to discussing the important issues of personal safety and helping them engage in responsible behavior.
  • Learn about and discuss the boundaries of Internet use with your children. Establish reasonable rules and guidelines and post them near the computer as a reminder. Consider setting rules about the time of day, length of time, people they may communicate with and appropriate areas for them to visit while online.
  • Placing computers in a common area of your home promotes the Internet as a family activity and allows you to regularly monitor online use.
  • Do not assume that everybody online is who he or she says they are. Twelve-year-old Sally might very well be a sixty-year-old man.
  • Remember, everything you read online is not true. Any offer that’s “Too good to be true” probably is.
  • If you believe that someone online is trying to lure or harm your child, contact local law enforcement and the FBI. It is a crime to lure children on the Internet.
  • If you become aware of the transmission, use or viewing of child pornography while online, immediately report this to local law enforcement and the FBI.
  • Encourage your children to go to you or a trusted adult when they encounter problems online:

    It’s important to reassure kids if they encounter problems online or view something disturbing, it’s not their fault. Discussing these issues openly may reduce their fear of going to you if they encounter something online making them feel scared, uncomfortable or confused. Be a resource. Let them know if they share the experience with you, you will try to help, not punish, them. At the same time help them understand what happened and avoid similar situations in the future.


The top 20 Internet acronyms every parent needs to know:

POS
Parent Over Shoulder
PIR
Parent In Room
P911
Parent Alert
PAW
Parents Are Watching
PAL
Parents Are Listening
ASL
Age/Sex/Location
MorF
Male or Female
SorG
Straight or Gay
LMIRL
Let's Meet In Real Life
KPC
Keeping Parents Clueless
TDTM
Talk Dirty To Me
IWSN
I Want Sex Now
NIFOC
Nude In Front Of Computer
GYPO
Get Your Pants Off
ADR
Address
WYCM
Will You Call Me?
KFY
Kiss For You
MOOS
Member(s) Of the Opposite Sex
MOSS or MOTSS
Member(s) Of The Same Sex
NALOPKT
Not A Lot Of People Know That

Sources:
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Klaas Kids Foundation
Netlingo.com