By Vivien Bergl, LCSW, CEAP
Employee Assistance Program Coordinator

I recently went online to a site that promised to police my daughter’s use of the internet.
After typing in her email address (which does not have her name) they gave me a mini
free report to let me know what they found. In that free mini preview of a report (of course
further and more detailed reports cost money) there was enough to make me vaguely
uncomfortable.

For those of us who grew up with rotary phones (as you may have realized from my last etip, that is me)
we may want to hide away from dealing with our kids using the Internet. We do not have that luxury!
This week we will talk about how to help our kids and teens remain safe.

Some basic safety tips to tell your kids:

· Never give out personal information, such as your name, home address, school name

or telephone number in a chat room or on bulletin boards. Also, never send a picture
of yourself to someone you chat with on the computer without your guardian’s permission.

· Never correspond to someone who has made you uncomfortable or scared.
· Do not meet someone without the permission of your guardians.
· Tell your guardians right away if you read anything on the internet that makes you feel uncomfortable.
· Remember that people online may not be who they say they are.

Beyond these basic safety tips, how do we protect our children? COMMUNICATE, talk to your
child about sexual victimization and potential on-line danger.

Other suggestions from experts in this are:

· Spend time with your children on-line, have them teach you about their favorite

on-line destinations.

· Keep the computer in a common room.
· Utilize parental controls provided by your service provider and/or blocking software.
· Always maintain access to your child’s on-line account and randomly check his/her email.
· Know how your kids are going online, more and more kids are accessing the Internet

through their cell phones. Check how you can limit access through your cell phone company.

· Go where your kids go online. Sign up for and use the social networking spaces that your kids visit.
· Know your child’s friends list.
· Talk to your child about bullying online

Remember, children, especially adolescents, are sometimes interested in and curious about sexuality,
and sexually explicit material. Therefore, you need to be alert to signs that your child may be at risk
on-line. Some of the risks are:

· Your child spends large amounts of time on-line, especially at night.
· You find pornography on your child’s computer
· Your child receives phone calls from people you don’t know.
· Your child receives mail, gifts, or packages from someone you don’t know.
· Your child becomes withdrawn from the family.
· Your child is using an on-line account belonging to someone else.

Though this all can be scary, remember there are dangers in every part of our society. By educating yourself and your children to these dangers and taking appropriate steps to protect them, they can benefit from the resources of the Internet.

If you would like to talk about this or any other problem or concern, please call Solutions Employee
Assistance Program at 1800-526-3485 or go on line (safely of course) to www.solutions-eap.com<http://www.solutions-eap.com>

George "Bud" Wassell, M.S., LPC, CEAP
Director, Solutions EAP
213 Court Street
Middletown, CT 06457
800-526-3485
fax: 860-704-6221
http://www.solutions-eap.com