Information for Parents

Summerreading.org is a great tool to encourage your child to read! Help them create an account and add books to their online shelf throughout the summer.

1. Read to children from the time they are born. It’s never too early to start!
2. Set aside a special time to read, when you and your family are relaxed.
3. Children enjoy setting the pace of reading time. Encourage them to turn pages.
4. Many children like to hear the same story again and again. It comforts them and helps develop language skills.

Here are some things you can do to help keep your child safe online:

• Privacy. Educate your child about the importance of keeping personal information private.
  • Discourage your child from giving out personal information such as his/her last name, age, home address, school name, or telephone number without your approval.
  • Discourage your child from sharing his/her online passwords with anyone other than you.
  • Familiarize yourself with how your child's information is being used online. Read the privacy policies of the websites your child visits regularly.
• Social Networking. Encourage your child to be honest about his/her age when signing up for social networking sites (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Second Life, and MySpace) or blogs. These sites and services often have minimum age requirements and may not be appropriate for all children.
• Posting Images/Videos. Discourage your child from posting photos or videos online without your approval.
• Inappropriate Messages. Discourage your child from responding to messages that are suggestive, obscene, threatening, or otherwise inappropriate.
• Meeting Strangers. Don't allow your child to arrange a face-to-face meeting with someone he/she met over the Internet without your approval. Remember that people online may not be who they say they are.
• Other tips:
  • Advertising and Inaccurate Information. Teach your child to be a critical consumer of information. Make sure your child knows that not everything he/she reads on the Internet is true.
  • Child Exploitation. If you or your child becomes aware of the transmission of child pornography, report it to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678.
  • Communication. Talk with your child about his/her favorite websites, how much time he/she should spend online, what information he/she can share with online friends and what kinds of sites you want him/her to visit.