1. Establish online rules and an agreement with your child about Internet use at home and outside of the home (i.e., at a friend's house, at school, at the library, etc.)

 2. Implement software tools to protect your family from the intrusion of inappropriate content and sexual predators.

3. Spend time online alongside your child and establish an atmosphere of trust regarding computer usage and online activities.

4. Regularly ask your kids about their online friends and activities. Role play with your child various dangerous scenarios that they could encounter online.

5. Place your computer in an area of your home where you can easily supervise your child's Internet activity.

6. Recognize that chat rooms are the playground of today's sexual predator. Do not allow your children to enter into chatrooms.

7. Block instant/personal messages from people you and your child don't know. Regularly check your child's buddy list to ensure that it has not been altered.

8. Do not permit your child to have an online profile. With this restriction, he or she will not be listed in directories and is less likely to be approached in chat rooms where pedophiles often search for prey. (Some Online Service Providers such as America Online, offer subscribers online profiles.)

9. Check with your child's school to see if student projects, artwork, or photos (where material is identified by name) are being put on school home pages. Schools often want to post school newsletters or sports scores, but every time a name or photo is displayed, there is vulnerability. Schools need to be reminded of that risk and encouraged to allow access to student activities posted on the school's website by password only.

10. Monitor the amount of time your child spends on the Internet, and at what times of day. Excessive time online, especially at night, may indicate a problem. Remind your child that Internet use is a privilege, not a right.

11. Watch for changes in your child's behavior (mention of adults you don't know, secretiveness, inappropriate sexual knowledge, sleeping problems, etc.).

12. Report any content or activity that you suspect as illegal or criminal to local law enforcement and to the cyber tip line.

Tips provided by Donna Rice Hughs at ProtectKids.com

For more information about children and safer Internet usage, try visiting protectkids.com, mysafesurf.org, or   ikeepsafe.org.