IM and Chat Rooms

Kids like to instant message and visit chat rooms for the same reasons adults do. They can meet people with similar interests and make new friends. But chat rooms present real dangers. These have historically been a place where kids meet other kids… and adults pretending to be kids

Instant Messaging:

• Make sure your kids are not giving out personal information through IM. Check their away messages from time to time.
• Set limits on how much time your child can spend using IM and e-mail. Consider not letting your child do homework in a room with the computer on, unless she is using the computer to do homework.
• Make sure your kids block IM from strangers. Every IM service has a blocking feature. Make sure you child knows when and how to use it.

Chat Rooms:

• Make sure the chat is monitored. This means it’s supervised by an online adult who works for the website running the chat.
• Don’t let your child use his real name, IM, or e-mail as identification for the chat. Spammers grab these addresses and use them for sending mass emails.
• Be sure your child knows never to meet anyone in the “real world” who he meets in a chat room. And he should agree to tell you immediately if anyone asks for an in-person meeting.
• Your child should understand that people in a chat room might not be kids, but adults looking for sex.