Tools for kids

• Remind students that the Internet is a public place.
• Create and post Internet guidelines in the classroom that are discussed regularly.
• Explain to students that pictures should not be sent or posted online without parental permission. Once sent, control of what happens to the picture is lost.
• Reinforce to students the use of child safe search engines (e.g. Yahooligans).
• Reinforce the idea to students that not everyone is who they say they are online. People can pretend to be older or younger than they actually are.
• Explain that they should trust their instincts and block someone if someone asks questions online that seem ‘weird’ (questions about puberty, sex, etc.).
• Talk to students about friendship: what it is and isn’t. Explain that online chatting needs to be adult-supervised.
• Explain to students that it’s illegal to threaten someone, and that they should tell a safe adult if threatened online.
• Explain to students that they may come across sexually inappropriate material while online. Ensure that they understand that they can talk to you about anything on the Internet without fear of losing Internet privileges.
• Ensure students have a safe adult in their life that they can talk to.