Prevention for Parents – How to prevent cyber bullying on communication online

Communicating Online

Talk to your kids about online manners.

Politeness counts. As much as it is important teach your kids to be polite offline; talk to them about being courteous online as well. Texting may seem fast and impersonal, yet courtesies like “pls” and “ty” (for please and thank you) are common text terms.

Tone it down. Using all caps, long rows of exclamation points, or large bolded fonts are the online equivalent of yelling. Most people don’t appreciate a rant.

Cc: and Reply all: with care. Suggest that your kids resist the temptation to send a message to everyone on their contact list.

Avoid chain letters. Most chain letters or emails are nuisances at best, and scams at worst. Many carry viruses or spyware. Ask your kids not to open or forward them.

Set high privacy preferences on your kids’ IM and video calling accounts.

Most IM programs allow parents to control whether people on their kids’ contact list can see their IM status, including whether they’re online. Some IM and email accounts allow parents to determine who can send their kids messages, and block anyone not on the list.

Ask your kids who they’re in touch with online.

Just as you want to know who your kids’ friends are offline, it’s a good idea to know who they’re talking to online.

Talk to your kids about using strong email passwords and protecting them.

The longer the password, the harder it is to crack. Personal information, your login name, common words, or adjacent keys on the keyboard are not safe passwords. Kids can protect their passwords by not sharing them with anyone, including their friends.

Remind your kids to protect their personal information.