Be reasonable and set reasonable expectations. Try to understand their needs, interests, and curiosity. Remember what it was like when you were their age.

BE OPEN WITH YOUR TEENS, AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO COME TO YOU IF THEY ENCOUNTER A PROBLEM ONLINE

If your kids tell you about someone or something they encountered, work with them to help them avoid problems. Remember, how you respond will determine whether they confide in you the next time they encounter a problem. It will also shape how they learn to deal with problems on their own.

LEARN EVERYTHING YOU CAN ABOUT THE INTERNET

Ask your teens to show you what’s cool. Have them show you great places for teens and fill you in on areas you may benefit from as well. Make “surfing the Net” a family experience. Use it to plan a vacation, pick out a movie, or check out other family activities. Make this one area where you get to be the student and your child gets to be the teacher.

CHECK OUT BLOCKING, FILTERING, AND RATINGS APPLICATIONS

As you may know, there are now services that rate web sites for content. There are also filtering programs and browsers that empower parents and guardians to block the types of sites they consider to be inappropriate. These programs work in different ways. Some block sites known to contain objectionable material. Some prevent users from entering certain types of information such as their name and address. Other programs keep your children away from chatrooms or restrict their ability to send or read E-mail. Generally these programs can be configured by a parent or guardian to only block the types of sites considered to be objectionable.

Whether or not it is appropriate to use one of these programs is a personal decision. You should also be careful to choose a program with criteria that reflects your family’s values. Be sure to configure it so it doesn’t block sites you want your teen to be able to visit.

It is important to realize filtering programs cannot protect your child from all online dangers. To begin with, no program can possibly block out every inappropriate site. What’s more, it’s possible, in some cases, for the programs to block sites that are appropriate. If you use a filtering program, you should re-evaluate it periodically to make sure it’s working for your family.

Regardless of whether you use a filtering program, you should still be sure your teen follows all of the basic rules listed here. Filtering programs are not a substitute for good judgment, supervision, or critical thinking. With or without filters, all family members need to be “Net savvy” and communicate with each other.