This week, the Office of the Attorney General\u2019s \u201cConsumer Caution Corner\u201d focuses on effective communication methods and safety measures parents can use to educate their children about their online safety.<\/p>\n
Talking to tour kids<\/strong> Communicating at Different Ages: Young Kids<\/strong> Communicating at different ages: Tweens<\/strong> Communicating at different ages: Teens<\/strong> What can you do?<\/strong> For the complete \u201cNet Cetera \u2013 Chatting with Kids About Being Online\u201d Federal Trade Commission (\u201cFTC\u201d) publication, please pick up a copy at the OAG (in Capitol Hill) or request one by email from consumer_counsel@cnmioag.org. Each week, the OAG\u2019s Consumer Protection Education Program shares FTC publications that provide consumers and businesses with the \u201cknow-how\u201d to identify and protect themselves from unfair trade practices and marketplace schemes. If you would like to file a consumer complaint, please pick up a form at the OAG (in Capitol Hill) or request one by email from consumer_counsel@cnmioag.org. After completing the consumer complaint, please submit it by email or in-person. We cannot act as your private attorney. If you need legal assistance, we will recommend that you contact a private attorney or legal aid organization. We cannot give legal advice or act as your private attorney. (Michael J. Cyganek)<\/strong><\/p>\n Michael J. Cyganek is the consumer counsel for the Office of the Attorney General.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This week, the Office of the Attorney General\u2019s \u201cConsumer Caution Corner\u201d focuses on effective communication…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2626,173,163,86],"class_list":["post-250224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion","tag-attorney-general","tag-capitol-hill","tag-kids","tag-oag"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250224\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nTechnology is constantly evolving. So are the risks associated with it. You can reduce these risks by talking to your kids about how they communicate \u2014 online and off \u2014 and encouraging them to think critically and actin a way they can be proud of. While kids value the opinions of their peers, most tend to rely on their parents for help on the issues that matter most.
\n\u2022 Start early
\n\u2022 Initiate conversations
\n\u2022 Communicate your expectations
\n\u2022 Be patient and supportive<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Supervision is important:
\n– When very young children start using mobile devices or a computer, they should be supervised closely by a parent or caregiver. If little kids are not supervised online, they may stumble onto content that could scare or confuse them.
\n– When you are comfortable that your young children are ready to explore on their own, it is still important to stay in close touch. You may want to restrict access to sites or apps that you have visited and know to be appropriate \u2014 at least in terms of their educational or entertainment value.
\n\u2022 Consider using various parental controls:
\n– Filtering and blocking
\n– Blocking outgoing content
\n– Limiting time
\n– Browsers for kids
\n– Kid-oriented search engines
\n– Monitoring tools<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Tweens need to feel \u201cindependent\u201d but not alone as they start exploring on their own. Many 8- to 12-year-olds are adept at finding information online, but they still need guidance to help them understand which sources are trustworthy.
\n\u2022 Think about limits: Consider setting limits on how long and how often they can be online \u2014 whether on computers, phones, or other mobile devices. For younger tweens, parental controls can be effective. However, many middle school kids have the technical know-how to get around those controls.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Teens are forming their own values and beginning to take on the values of their peers. Many are eager to experience more independence from their parents. However, they need to learn how to exercise judgment about being safe online and act in accordance with their family\u2019s ethics.
\n\u2022 Teens have more internet access through mobile devices \u2014 as well as more time to themselves \u2014 so it is not realistic for you to try to be in the same room when they are online. They need to know that you and other family members can ask them about what they are doing online.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Talk about credibility:
\n– not everything they see on the internet is true
\n– people online may not be who they appear to be or say they are
\n– information or images they share can be seen far and wide
\n– once something is posted online, it is nearly impossible to \u201ctake it back\u201d
\n\u2022 Talk about manners.
\n\u2022 Talk about expectations.
\n\u2022 Remind your kids that online actions have consequences.
\n\u2022 Tell kids to limit what they share.
\n\u2022 Limit access to your kids\u2019 profiles.
\n\u2022 Help prevent cyberbullying.<\/p>\n