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Missing Children Home | Child
Cyber Safety |
Child Safety |
If Your Child Is Missing
Internet Safety
Tips for Kids
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I will not give out
personal information such as my address, telephone number,
parents' work address/telephone number, or the name and location
of my school without my parents' permission.
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I will tell my
parents right away if I come across any information that makes
me feel uncomfortable.
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I will never agree
to get together with someone I "meet" online without first
checking with my parents. If my parents agree to the meeting, I
will be sure that it is in a public place and bring my mother or
father along.
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I will never send a
person my picture or anything else without first checking with
my parents.
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I will not respond
to any messages that are mean or in any way make me feel
uncomfortable. It is not my fault if I get a message like that.
If I do I will tell my parents right away so that they can
contact the online service.
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I will talk with my
parents so that we can set up rules for going online. We will
decide upon the time of day that I can be online, the length of
time I can be online, and appropriate areas for me to visit. I
will not access other areas or break these rules without their
permission.
Adapted from
Child Safety on the Information Highway by Lawrence J. Magid.
Copyright © 1994 National Center for Missing & Exploited
Children (NCMEC). All rights reserved.
Internet-Related
Safety Tips for Teens
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Don’t give out
personal information about yourself, your family situation, your
school, your telephone number, or your address.
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If you become aware
of the sharing, use, or viewing of child pornography online,
immediately report this to the National Center for Missing &
Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678.
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When in chatrooms
remember that not everyone may be who they say they are. For
example a person who says "she" is a 14-year-old girl from New
York may really be a 42-year-old man from California.1
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If someone harasses
you online, says anything inappropriate, or does anything that
makes you feel uncomfortable, contact your Internet service
provider.
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Know that there are
rules many Internet Service Providers (ISP) have about online
behavior. If you disobey an ISP's rules, your ISP may penalize
you by disabling your account, and sometimes every account in a
household, either temporarily or permanently.
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Consider
volunteering at your local library, school, or Boys & Girls Club
to help younger children online. Many schools and nonprofit
organizations are in need of people to help set up their
computers and Internet capabilities.
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A friend you meet
online may not be the best person to talk to if you are having
problems at home, with your friends, or at school - remember the
teenage "girl" from New York in Tip number three? If you can't
find an adult in your school, church, club, or neighborhood to
talk to, Covenant House is a good place to call at
1-800-999-9999. The people there provide counseling to kids,
refer them to local shelters, help them with law enforcement,
and can serve as mediators by calling their parents.
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If you are thinking
about running away, a friend from online (remember the
14-year-old girl) may not be the best person to talk to. If
there is no adult in your community you can find to talk to,
call the National Runaway Switchboard at 1-800-621-4000.
Although some of your online friends may seem to really listen
to you, the Switchboard will be able to give you honest, useful
answers to some of your questions about what to do when you are
depressed, abused, or thinking about running away.2
1Adapted from
Teen Safety on the Information Highway by Lawrence J. Magid.
Copyright© respectively 1994 and 1998 National Center for
Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). All rights reserved.
2Adapted from Children Online: The ABCs for Parenting: When Is
Your Child Ready by The Children's Partnership. Reprinted with
permission of The Children's Partnership. http://www.childrenspartnership.org
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