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P.O. Box 7129
Boise, ID 83707
208.334.8005
Fax: 208.334.8563

 


Olson offers tips for parents whose children use
the Web for social interaction

Prosecuting attorney Jared Olson, who specializes in drunk driving cases, offered the following tips to parents on how to keep children safer on social networking Web sites. Olson gave two presentations at Headquarters to near capacity audiences.

• Talk to your kids about their online activities. Ask lots of questions and let them educate you about the new technologies they use.

• Practice chatting online with your kids so they know how to handle strangers they encounter.

• Regularly have them show you the sites they visit and get o know their online friends, just as you would their regular friends.

• Keep the computer in a central room. It is much harder to keep a secret when parents can regularly see and monitor what their child is doing on the computer.

• Use filtering or parental control technologies. Block everything that is not pre-approved, rather than just filtering out the “bad” sites.

• Keep track of the Web sites your children visit by checking the Web browser history files or cache.

• Make sure your children understand what information can and cannot be shared online with everyone. What they post online could remain online forever.

• Practice chatting online with your kids so they know how to handle strangers they encounter.

• Remind them that the cute 16-year-old girl may not be 16, may not be a girl and my not even be cute!

• Limit the time they are able to spend on the Internet.

• Remember that you are the parent and if they do not follow the rules, remove the privileges – even if you have to take away the computer. They will still be able to coplete any school assignments the same way you did in school.

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Questions may be directed tyo Jared Olson, Idaho Prosecuting Attorneys Association, Idaho POST Academy, P.O. Box 700, Meridian, Idaho  83680. He also can be reached by telephone at (208) 884-7325 or by e-mail at jared.olson@post.idaho.gtov

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Published 7-11-8