Dowagiac Department of Public Safety Director Thomas A. Atkinson reminds parents monitoring of your child’s use of computers, particularly Internet use, can be vital to their safety.

As students find themselves with free time during the summer months, it is anticipated that their computer use will increase.

Atkinson offers the following important cyber safety crime prevention tips from the National Crime Prevention Council.

NCPC provides useful resources, such as the following cyber safety tips to assist law enforcement agencies in providing education in an effort to prevent victimization.

Getting started

• Explain that when a person logs onto the Internet, you are no longer alone. People skilled in using the Internet can find out who you are and where you are. They can often tap into your computer.

• Explore the Internet with your child. Encourage special sites specifically for children as you visit areas of the World Wide Web together.

Controlling access

• Teach children about exploitation, pornography, hate literature, excessive violence and other issues that concern you. By having some familiarity that these dangers exist, children will know how to respond when confronted with this material.  They will not be caught off-guard, which would increase their vulnerability.

• Choose an online service that offers parental control features.  Parents can then block contact that is not clearly marked as child-appropriate, i.e., chat rooms, bulletin boards, news groups, discussion groups, or access to the Internet entirely.

• Parents who are somewhat tech-savvy may purchase blocking software and design their own safety system specifically for their family.

• Monitor your child when they’re online and monitor the time they spend online.
Warning signs that something may be unusual could include your child becoming uneasy or defensive when you walk into the room or when you linger. This may be a sign that the child is up to something – perhaps, forbidden.

Tell your children

• To always let you know IMMEDIATELY if they find something scary or threatening on the Internet.

• Never give out their name, address, telephone number, password, school name, parent’s name or any other personal information.

• Never go agree to meet face to face with someone they’ve met online.

• Never to respond to messages which have bad words or seem scary or weird.

• Never to enter an area that charges for services without obtaining your permission first.

•Never send a picture of themselves to anyone without your permission.

•  Make sure access to the Internet at your children’s school is monitored by adults.

•  If your child’s friend has Internet access at home, talk to the parents about the rules they have established. Find out if the children are monitored while they are online.