Let your children know that some information they get from the Internet may not be accurate. Teach them to check their facts with you, their teacher, the school librarian, or other reliable resources. Mum's the word. Insist that your children never reveal their names, address, phone number, or even their ages and schools, over the Internet unless you have monitored the site to ensure their privacy. If your child has an e-mail address, check it to make sure it doesn't provide a clue to his or her identity, such as first or last ame, or a birth date.
Children love to participate in online surveys, especially if there is a free gift involved.
But the information they give out can be used not only to market products to children, but by predators to target potential victims. Teach your children not to respond to or even read an e-mail if the sender is unknown to them, and to log off immediately if they see or read something that upsets them. If you allow your children to participate in chat rooms, make sure they realize that some people in the chat rooms may be disguising their true identities and purposes. To be on the safe side, insist that your children never reveal personal information to chat room participants, and to never, never agree to meet in person with anyone they know only from online correspondence. Watch your language.