A Note on Home Internet Safety from the Guidance Office With the popularity of websites like MySpace, Facebook, and Xanga, today’s teenagers are confronted with more and more ways to communicate with people they know and sometimes those they don’t. If your child has internet access at home, you need to be aware of what they may be doing online. It is common to read stories in the newspaper of children who have been harmed by predators they met on the internet. Too many of our students are making personal information available on the web. Want to find out what your child is really doing online? The more you ask questions and monitor their internet activity, the safer your child will be. There are plenty of programs on the market to help you monitor what happens on your computer. It’s also a good idea to keep the family computer in a common room rather than in the student’s bedroom. Frequently ask to see your child’s MySpace page or other website. We have many parents report that they were shocked at what they found when they visited their child’s website. Just view the facts about on-line safety and your child: · One in five children who use computer chatrooms has been approached over the Internet by a predator · 50 percent of high school students "talk" in chat rooms or use instant messaging (IM) with Internet strangers · 49 percent of high school students have posted personal information on their Web pages -- such as name, age, or address -- that could assist a stranger to identify or locate them Here are some links to sites for more information and to keep your child safe while cruising the