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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2000)
NOTICES Rascal’s Seven Smart Rules for Internet Safety Internet Chat Room Safety The Web Wise Kids’ Clubhouse Rules 1) I will not tell a stranger who I am or where I live. I won’t give out my name, number, address, or identifying information to anyone on the Internet, even if they seem to be my friend. I will always tell my parents when someone asks for this kind of information, even if it’s a cartoon character I like. I won’t send pictures of myself to strangers online. 2) Me and my parents are a team. 1 will teach my parents or adults responsible for me how to use the Internet. I will show them where I go and what I do. I can teach them to “surf,” and they can teach me how to stay safe. We are a team. Teams win when they work together. 3) I can say no. I won’t let other kids talk me into doing something on the Internet that my parents wouldn’t want me to do. I am strong and responsible, and I might sometimes need to tell someone “no” in order to do the right thing. 4) I will share e-mail from strangers with my parents. I will not open e-mail or look at any messages from a stranger without my parents knowing about it. If someone sends me e-mail who is not a person my parents know, I will be sure to tell them. I will not answer e-mail from strangers unless my parents say “OK.” I will not accept an offer to visit a Web site unless my parents are with me. 5) Strangers in chat rooms can be good or bad, but they are still strangers. I will not visit chat rooms unless my pareTitsVRWv about it. I know that people sometimes pretend to be “different” on the Internet than they really are. Sometimes a grown-up might pretend to be a kid. I need to be careful and not always believe what people say in chat rooms. 6) I will keep a safe distance from strangers. No matter where I am on the Internet, I am in a place where there are many people who can freely come and freely go. The Internet is like a big city. Some of these people will be strangers to me, and I will follow safety rules with these strangers as I follow safety rules with strangers in real life. There are good people and there are bad people everywhere and I will always keep strangers at a “safe distance.” On the Internet, that means that I only do what my parents, teachers, or guardians say is OK to do. And it also means that I will not meet with an Internet friend without asking my family first and making sure they come with me. 7) My family and teachers care about me - bad things on the Internet are not my fault. If someone on the Internet says something bad to me, it’s not my fault. I am not a bad person if someone else does something that is bad. If someone does something bad or threatens me, I will not answer them. I know that I can trust my parents, teachers, and other adults in my family, and I know that I can tell them right away. They will know what to do about it. Remember... Web Wise Kids Play It Safe! My Signature_________________________________ Dad’s and Mom’s Signatures (or whoever is responsible for me - Grandma, Grandpa, etc.). Get as many names as you can!________________________________________ _ My Teacher’s Signature_________________________________ Congratulations! You are a great student and an official member of Rascal's Web Wise Kids’ Club! Tell your friends about our club and help keep them safe, too. 1997 - 1999 Web Wise Kids/http://www.webwisekids.com 26 10 Tips for Parents 1) Position the computer in your main living space and make sure the monitor faces outward into the room so there is no secrecy. This is the single most valuable thing you can do for your child’s health and safety online. 2) Work as a team to set your boundaries. Discuss with your child exactly what is OK and what is not OK regarding what kind of chat rooms to visit and what kinds of things to talk about. Learn to chat yourself so that you understand what it is that your child is doing. If you don’t know how to chat online, ask your child to teach you! 3) Stress to your child that they need to tell you if they get any weird or upsetting messages while chatting, and that you will not be angry with them nor will you ban the Internet as a result. Make it clear that you understand that the child cannot control what other people say to him or her and that they are not to blame if this happens. 4) Set strict time limits for Internet chat use and enforce them. Internet addiction is a real thing! 5) Make it clear to your child that people in chat rooms are always strangers, no matter how often you chat with them or how well you think you know them. While they may be good or bad people, they are still strangers. Your child should therefore not always believe everything people say in chat rooms. 6) Make sure your child understands that they are never to tell a person online their real name, their school, their phone number, or where they live. 7) Do not leave your child alone in cyberspace for long periods of time - this is when they are most vulnerable. Make sure that their chat time occurs when you are in the house so that you can check in on them regularly. 8) Be sure to stress to your child that they are to behave politely and respectfully at all times while chatting online with strangers. (See Internet on page 27)
