Internet Safety Texas Teacher Network Click here to add this page as a favorite! Enjoy your visit!

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    The Internet is a vast resource for today's students.  The amount of information to be found is amazing.  Surfing the net can be a fun and learning experience.  However, this new resource does have its problems regarding the safety of our children.  This page is to give parents some ideas on how to make sure their child's internet experiences are safe.
 

• Never let your child surf on the net unattended.  The simplest of words in a search engine can turn up the worst of sites.  It is best to be with your child so that you can monitor content.
• Make use of internet filtering devices, that filter out websites of questionable content or language.
  Some suggestions include: Netnanny, CyberPatrol, CyberSitter, or SurfWatch
• Use kid-friendly search sites, such as Fact Monster, Ask Jeeves for Kids, or Yahooligans, rather than sites such as Yahoo, Excite, or Google.
• Frequently remind your child to never give out his full name, address, school name, phone number, or passwords.  You never know who is on the opposite end of a chatroom, message board, newslist, etc.
• Remind your child that the use of the computer is a privilege. Unless your child is independently wealthy, the computer belongs to the PARENT, therefore, the parent has the RIGHT to know what sites are being visited.
• Ideally, the computer that is being used by the children should be a in family room, in such a position that the screen is viewable by parents. Again, YOU are the parent (there is no such thing as a democracy in the home--you are responsible for what materials your children are viewing on the family computer).
• Webpages are a lot of fun to make, click here for some important safety guidelines.
• Remind your child to not sign up for mailing lists for clubs or online groups without a parent's permission.  Some groups or clubs will sell your email address to other webmasters, and your email box will become full of junk mail or porn site info.
• Remind your child to not share files or pictures with anyone without you being present.  This is to protect them from receiving questionable materials or graphics, as well as to protect your computer from potentially threatening viruses.
• NEVER give out credit card or other financial info.
• Print out and sign the Children's Internet Safety Pledge, and post it by the computer.  This is to remind everyone of the safety issues on the internet.

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Don't forget to complete the
Children's Internet Safety Pledge!
EMAIL
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