Many people, especially children, don’t realize the truly “open” nature of the Internet and its communities. Posts, chats and other interactions that take place on the web often can be seen not only by friends and family but by complete strangers.

Just as parents caution younger children against talking to strangers and revealing personal information in real life, you should teach your child to be careful not to reveal private, personal information when online as well. It’s important to explain that private information such as your child’s name, telephone number, address, school, etc. should remain out of their online communications and activities.

As your children grow older, continually remind them of the necessity of acting responsibly to protect their privacy. Older children and teens should know that others on the Internet aren’t always who they say they are, and that they can’t trust strangers online any more than they can in face-to-face contacts. With this in mind, you should reinforce with them how they need to be as anonymous as possible during both their online interactions and even with things as simple as creating email addresses and user account names. And, they should never share a password, even with a friend.