Great points made by the D.A from L.A.    We couldn’t agree more with her point about finding the teachable moments that arise in life – especially the online life of a student.  To reiterate:

As teachable moments arise in your daily life, keep these safety tips in mind:

1. Be consistent with your messaging. Watch for and avoid messages that are not realistic or don’t make sense. For example, avoid contradictions, such as saying “Don’t talk to strangers” and then later, at the store, telling your child to “say bye-bye to the nice grocery man.”
2. Become tech savvy, not tech-fearful. The internet is here to stay and it’s a great way to learn, research, and connect. Parents must learn about and use social networking sites such as Facebook. Better yet, it’s a great idea for children to teach their parents how to navigate them, which naturally opens the communication process between parent and child or tween. The amount of people of all ages on Facebook is equivalent to the 6th largest city worldwide, making it wide open for every kid to explore. Parents must learn to understand this tool so they can create rules that make sense.
3. Empower your children. They already have the tools to teach us how to keep them safe. Talk with them, learn what they know, have them educate you so you know where you need more knowledge. Then discuss these things with your children.
4. Listen to your instincts and teach your children how to find theirs. Instincts rarely lie. When in doubt, trust your instincts. I’m often amazed at how often we as parents would rather give the benefit of a doubt to perfect strangers. If an elevator door opens and something is telling you that the person in there is creepy, don’t go in. Too often we worry about political correctness or appearing rude. However, we want our kids to develop that inner “uh-oh” feeling. In order to do that we must listen to our own inner “uh-oh’s” and discuss them as they come up in real life.
5. Parents need to teach children to find a trusted adult, even if it is not the parent, as a safe person to disclose to, if necessary. This will be the person they can confide in, talk to, and trust. Kids need to know it is okay, if they don’t feel comfortable talking to a parent, to find another trusted adult the parent knows and approves of, who can help them And, they should keep sharing until they get the help they need.

When a student talks to you about the internet, take a deep breath, gather some strength and adult wisdom, and find a way to connect. 

Said Sax – “Safety talks are difficult for many parents to broach, as they bring them face-to-face with fear of events out of their control. However, children depend on adults to teach them how to be safe. Such talks are also a great opportunity to bond and learn from your child.”

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