for Online Safety
Steps parents can take
Increase your involvement. Be emotionally available and connect with your adolescent. They will likely resist your involvement, but do not back down. It is his/her job to test limits and your job to set them.
Increase direct supervision and directly monitor online activities and phone calls. For information about how to check chat log histories on instant messaging accounts, see Safety and the Internet.
Enforce limits on Internet use (depending on the level of risk, you may consider taking away Internet privileges for a limited time.)
Build your relationship with your adolescent. This will be difficult as they are likely to resist. Do not be discouraged- just continue creating opportunities. Even if your adolescent is resistant, s/he will feel how much you care which is a powerful protective factor.
Find ways to build your relationship with your adolescent to help him/her build a positive identity. Consider the following checklist that promote positive identity formation and reduce risk of victimization. Indirect Protective Factors: Positive Identity Formation
