Visit The Safe Side at:

www.thesafeside.com

Internet Safety Discussion Guide At The Safe Side, we believe the most important way to teach your child safety lessons is through communication, discussion and practice that happens openly and often. Print this document and discuss the questions with your kids or students. Most of the topics covered in the questions below are explored in The Safe Side Internet Safety video, available at stores nationwide or at www.thesafeside.com. Because different families and schools may have different rules or opinions, many of the questions are subject to discussion. Our suggested answers are colored in green. Video recap Through wild escapades and behavior modeling, Safe Side Superchick helps children understand how to stay safer online. The video introduces and develops four safety rules, called Hot Tips. It shows how e-mail works and explains why it is not always safe to communicate with people online. Kids see that people online are not always who they claim to be, and while the Internet is a very cool place to gather information and play games, it’s also best to exercise caution. Serious situations are always followed by positive reinforcement from Safe Side Superchick and her sidekick Buddy, a gorilla. Children who demonstrate smart decision-making are rewarded with Safe Side Wrist Bands. Terms The following three terms are introduced in The Safe Side’s Emmy Award-winning DVD Stranger Safety and also used in Internet Safety. Don’t Know

ANY person a child does not know.

Kinda Know

Someone a child might recognize, but who is not one of his or her’s Safe Side Adults

Safe Side Adult

A person a child can always trust to go with or to talk to, identified and agreed to in advance by the child and his or her parents or guardians.

© 2007 The Safe Side LLC.• 9220 Kimmer Drive Suite 215 • Lone Tree, CO 80124 • 303.649.9374 • www.thesafeside.com

Discussion questions and topics Why should you always ask a Safe Side Adult for permission before going online? Teach your child that going online is like going anywhere else -- to the store, to the mall or to your friend’s house. And just like going to any of those places, kids need to let their Safe Side Adult know where they are and what they are doing. Even better, kids should take a Safe Side Adult with them when they go online. “Don’t Knows” and “Kinda Knows” are all over the Internet trying to contact kids. It’s not safe to be alone when you’re young.

If your teacher assigns you homework that requires using the Internet, do you still need a Safe Side Adult to go online with you? Teachers should recommend safe sites to check out for homework, but it’s always a good idea to ask your Safe Side Adult first. Even better, work side-by-side with your Safe Side Adult while online.

If you receive an e-mail from someone at school that says mean or cruel things, what should you do? Bullying can go on anywhere — on the school bus, in the classroom, and on the Internet. Saying mean things in an e-mail can be as hurtful as saying them to someone’s face. Teach your child to never answer these types of letters, and to always show these e-mails to a parent, teacher or Safe Side Adult. Grownups can help sort out hurt feelings and determine whether the letter should be reported to school officials.

Are all kids’ websites safe? Some websites are secure against grownups posing as kids, but many others are not. It’s hard to tell. Teach your child to always have a Safe Side Adult right there with them when going into an unsecured site or one that they have never been to before.

Why are chat rooms dangerous? People are not always who they seem. There are many adults online that pretend to be kids. These kinds of grownups can hurt children. It’s very hard to tell who is a real child online and who is pretending. Teach your child that it is better to stay out of chat rooms altogether.

© 2007 The Safe Side LLC.• 9220 Kimmer Drive Suite 215 • Lone Tree, CO 80124 • 303.649.9374 • www.thesafeside.com

Maybe your friends have their own page on sites like “MySpace”. Do you think that’s a good idea? Many children have listed themselves on so-called social community websites like “Myspace.” Unfortunately these listings become places where adults can gather all kinds of information about kids. Teach your child that sites like “Myspace” are for adults. Like a scary movie, children never know what they are going to see online. Anyone can post anything on those kinds of sites, and anyone can be looking at what is posted. Anyone can be watching. “MySpace” is fine for grownups, but it’s not safe for kids because it’s not meant to be used by kids.

How can someone hurt you over the Internet? It’s very hard for kids to tell the difference between a person who may hurt them and a person who may not, even when they are standing in front of them. It’s even harder if it’s a person they’ve only met online. Online pedophiles will try to get kids to provide personal information about themselves, like where they go to school, what their name is, and where they live. Teach your child that with this kind of information it would be very easy for someone to find them, and that could be dangerous.

What if you accidentally go to a chat room and someone is trying to speak to you in a way that makes you feel weird or uncomfortable? Everyone makes mistakes. Teach your child to tell a Safe Side Adult immediately if someone says something or does something online that feels weird and makes the child uncomfortable. These kinds of feelings may be scary, but they are a warning that the brain gives when something is not right. A Safe Side Adult can help get the child out of the chat room, off the website or away from the e-mail, and report the incident to the Cyber Tip Line at www.cybertipline.com. This organization can help stop people who may be trying to hurt kids online.

What if your friends are looking at online sites at school that are off-limits or inappropriate? Teach your child that looking at inappropriate sites at school, at home or at a friend’s house is wrong. It can show them things that may be disturbing or harmful. At school, the child should notify a teacher in private immediately. Let your child know that he or she is doing a good thing and will not be punished when reporting something that is dangerous or against the rules.

© 2007 The Safe Side LLC.• 9220 Kimmer Drive Suite 215 • Lone Tree, CO 80124 • 303.649.9374 • www.thesafeside.com

What if you meet someone really nice online and that person sends you a picture of himself or herself? They can’t be a bad person, right? WRONG! Parents must understand how dangerous this situation is. It is very important parents keeps line of communication open with their children in the event something like this happens. People that may want to harm children will spend countless hours getting kids to trust them. It’s like a job for these kinds of people — it’s what they do, and they’re good at it. They will often send a photo of a person the child expects to see, and then speak to the child in the “voice” of that photo. When online, it’s almost impossible to know if a person is who he or she says they are. Teach your child that it’s best not to go to chat rooms, and to stop immediately if they have made contact with someone they do not know. What should you do if you are at a friend’s house and your friend wants to go online in secret, without asking their Safe Side Adult?

Teach your child that doing the right thing can be hard. Many kids don’t understand the dangers of the Internet. If your friend goes online without asking his Safe Side Adult, leave the room. Teach them to call their Safe Side Adult and let them know what’s going on. Always remember to stay smart, cool and safe, even if the people around them are not.

© 2007 The Safe Side LLC.• 9220 Kimmer Drive Suite 215 • Lone Tree, CO 80124 • 303.649.9374 • www.thesafeside.com

Internet Safety Worksheet Name__________________________________________________________

Circle the correct answer to each question.

1. It is safe for you to go online whenever you want, with or without your Safe Side Adult? TRUE

FALSE

2. You should never open e-mails or pop-up windows without asking your Safe Side Adult first? TRUE

FALSE

3. MySpace is a safe place to post your personal information. TRUE

FALSE

4. If you meet someone really nice online and this person sends you a picture of himself, you can be sure the person you’re talking with is the same person in the picture. TRUE

FALSE

5. Never meet anyone in person that you’ve met online. TRUE

FALSE

6. When using the Internet to complete homework assignments, your teacher should provide a list of safe sites to use. TRUE

FALSE

7. All kids’ websites are safe. TRUE

FALSE

© 2007 The Safe Side LLC.• 9220 Kimmer Drive Suite 215 • Lone Tree, CO 80124 • 303.649.9374 • www.thesafeside.com