Online tips for parents - World of Science - Brief Article

The Internet is a fact of most preteen and teenage girls' lives today. Parents can and should play an active role helping their daughters navigate cyberspace. Here are some tips:

1. Talk to your daughter about safety rules for using the Internet. Her "common sense" is probably very different from yours.

2. Discuss with your daughter what her online rules should be--how much time she can spend online, what kinds of sites she can visit, when she can be online, etc. Consider her input seriously.

3. Know what she is doing online. What kinds of sites is she visiting? Does she go into or want to go into public chat rooms? Familiarize yourself with the Internet, so you understand what she's doing.

4. Maintain an open dialogue with your daughter about her Internet use. Be willing to compromise, but make sure she understands that your concerns are for her safety.

5. Encourage her to teach you some new Internet related skills. This could be a way to open the door to communicating about issues that might occur online.

6. Prepare your daughter for the kinds of uncomfortable experiences she might have online, without making her feel that the Internet is a totally frightening place.

7. Without becoming overly judgmental, help her solve problems she encounters online. Make sure she knows she can come to you with those problems.

8. Find out what your daughter's friends are doing online so you know what her Internet social reality is all about.

9. Keep in mind the positive side of your daughter's use of the Internet. Think about her opportunities to practice her social skills, investigate topics for school, and get information she is too embarrassed to ask people about face-to-face.

10. Use your "parent power" to continue to influence your daughter.

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COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group