Kids I - Plus

The Ada County Sheriff's Office
Information Technology, Recreation and Event Services and Public Information
Recommends that you:

Never, never provide your children with technology that you cannot operate or know how to use proficiently.
Open an honest line of communication with your child about the dangers of the Internet and specifically your expectations and consequences for violating those standards; always follow through.
Always keep computers in the most public, well-traveled areas of your home so they are highly visible to everyone.
Use the parental controls on your operating system to enhance your system's security & limit a child's ability to make changes to your system.
Put limits on the times your child can use your computers.
All of your child’s Internet accounts should be in your name and you should have all logins and passwords recorded and saved.
Know what services you Internet service provider has available to you such as filtering, monitoring and protective software.
Always read and print the terms of service for any Web site; print them and save them. Read the Web site’s privacy policy before submitting personal or financial information.
Contact the police immediately if you suspect that your child has had any inappropriate or concerning online contact.
Seek out, acquire and use protective and monitoring software and keep it current and updated.

Always use a "screen name". Never disclose your real name, school, phone number or where you live.
Always tell mom/dad if they receive any scary communication that is frightening or upsetting.
Never exchange photographs over the Internet (or through the mail).
Never agree to meet anyone in person that you met in a chat room.
Never give out your password to anyone.
Never agree to enter private chat rooms.
Never accept everything a person says online at face value.
Never accept an "Instant Message" from someone you don't know.
Never tell anyone your real age.
ALWAYS ask permission from Mom or Dad before using the computer.

State of Idaho Attorney General ProtecTeens - Great resource including parental control software links
A Parent's Guide to Internet Safety - FBI.gov
Parent Teen Chat Decoder - Teen chat and acronyms decoder - 'teen speak' translation made easy