Tools for parents

What parents of 13- to 15-year-olds can do to help keep them safe

  • Use parental controls on your computer.
  • Reinforce the public nature of the Internet and set the expectation that you will monitor their online activity.
  • Monitor increased independence. Even though adolescents can appear as though they can handle things, they actually require and unconsciously seek adult guidance and supervision.
  • Explain where it is appropriate for them to have privacy: confiding in close friends face-to-face, writing in a journal, private space in their bedroom, etc. There is no privacy on the Internet.
  • Keep an eye on who they are communicating with through email and instant messaging.
  • Know their passwords and screen names.
  • Monitor use of peer-to-peer file sharing programs (used to download music and games) as they may be exposed to sexually explicit material.
  • Monitor use of webcams, cell phones, and the posting and exchanging of pictures online.
  • Explain that once a picture is sent online they lose control of what is done with it. It may never be completely removed from the Internet.
  • Reinforce that they must be careful with whom they share their personal information as someone could use it to humiliate them or try to manipulate them into sending pictures.
  • Teach them that it is illegal for people to manufacture, possess or distribute naked or sexually explicit picture of children under 18 years old. They need to tell a safe adult if they are presented with this situation.
  • Reinforce the importance of protecting their friends' and family's personal information and pictures. This should apply even when they are upset with people.
  • Encourage them to be leaders and not to forward messages or pictures of others that they receive.
  • Teach them that it is illegal for adults to offer gifts or money in exchange for sexual pictures.
  • Explain to adolescents that it is illegal to threaten someone online or offline. If someone threatens them, they need to tell a safe adult.
  • Explain to adolescents that there is no need or urgency to respond to any messages. Teach adolescents not to respond to messages that make them feel uncomfortable.
  • Discuss dignity and self-respect and how it can be preserved or destroyed by messages sent online and offline.
  • Discuss the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships. Adolescents should never meet someone in person that they first met online without an accompanying parent.
  • Discuss high-risk behaviour online and offline and create 'what if' scenarios together to help them anticipate dangerous situations and possible solutions.
  • Teach them how to get out of relationships.
  • Encourage open communication and be conscious of their sensitivity to social judgment. They may be hesitant to share personal experiences.
  • Monitor and verify job offers.