1) Friend your kid on Facebook: Rule No. 1 when it comes to allowing a pre-teen to have a Facebook page should be that the kid must be friends with Mom and/or Dad - or an older relative that can keep an eye on activity. This is a non-negotiable rule. If the kid wants a FB page, then he or she must agree.
2) Friend the parents of your kids’ friends: Would you let your kid sleep over at a friend’s house without meeting the parents? Parents are all over Facebook (you’ve seen the kid pics, right?) so why not form an alliance with the parents of kids who are friends with your kids? This also helps you learn a bit more about the parents of these kids and their levels of responsibility - are mom and dad doing Jell-o shots in every picture? Remember: the apple usually doesn’t fall far from the tree.
3) Keep the home PC in a common area: Kids are less likely to engage in unsafe behavior if anyone can walk by and see what they’re up to. Heck, mom and dad are less likely, as well. Still, keeping laptops out of bedrooms help moms and dads maintain some sort of control over online adventures.
4) Monitor the tweets, Flickr page and YouTube: It’s not just Facebook where bad things can happen. What sort of pictures are your kids posting? What are they reading online - and retweeting? What are they watching on YouTube?
5) Monitor the cell phone bill: The itemized bill will tell you what time text messages are being sent and received and to which phone numbers. You’ll also be able to watch out for picture and video messages being sent. If your 15-year-old son is sending and receiving pictures at 1 a.m., he may be engaged in some activities that could get him into trouble later.
6) Random cell phone checks: If the parent pays the bill - and most do - then he or she has the right to randomly take possession of the phone. Check the photos and videos on the device. What time are text messages being sent and received? Are any of them threatening in any way - either those being received or sent? Why is it that the text message history is always empty? Are your kids deleting traces of something?
7) How’s that browser history? When was the last time you checked the history on the Web browser? Just like the cell phone checks - watch out for empty history logs. Have the kids been deleting their footsteps to throw off a parent’s suspicions?
8) Create rules around time and usage: This goes for cell phones and computers. Just like our parents imposed no-TV rules during homework time, the dinner hour or after 9 p.m., parents should impose similar rules around technology. And, more importantly, stick to them.
9) Don’t be afraid of a complete shutdown: Pull the power plug on the computer or the modem for a day. Confiscate the cell phones and lock them away for an afternoon while you do something fun. It won’t kill your kids - or you - to take a break from technology every now and then.
10) Talk to your kids: I know. A shocker, right? But parents should be talking regularly to their kids about the dangers of bullies and predators, the risks of sharing risque photos and messages, the importance of privacy settings (as opposed to just setting them for the kids and not telling them why.) Let them know why you’re doing all of these things and give them a chance to voice their objections or concerns. Don’t be afraid to compromise a bit - but stick to the rules that you see as most important.
Source: 10 other ways to keep your socially-networked kids safe by Sam Diaz
