E-mail (electronic mail) can be a great way to encourage your children to communicate in writing! It can also give them some online independence, without compromising their safety. E-mail allows kids to:
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Keep in touch with family and friends
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Make pen pals all around the world
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Get homework help from classmates or teachers
• and establish mentoring relationships!
However, e-mail can also open the door to a number of risks including unwanted computer junk mail, known as "spam" in the form of pornography especially when using free Web-based e-mail services such as Yahoo! or Hotmail.
Safety guidelines for e-mail:
• Teach your kids to protect their e-mail address. They should never reveal their address on a Web site, in chat rooms or in a personal profile (a detailed description of themselves that users are often asked to provide when joining a chat room or instant messaging list). Also protect your kids privacy when registering for e-mail especially when using Web-based e-mail account such as Hotmail or Yahoo! . (For more information on protecting your privacy when registering for e-mail or instant messaging, see Filling Out Online Registration Forms.)
• Protect your kids' privacy during the registration process. Make sure their authorization is required before anyone adds them to an IM list. Discourage them from filling out the "personal profile"—this information is made available to other users, which may attract strangers!
• Tell your children never to open or respond to unsolicited e-mail. Kids should never reply to e-mail from strangers or open attachments or links that come in unsolicited e-mail. They should also never send unwanted e-mail back to the sender, even just to respond to an invitation to "unsubscribe"—all that does is tell the sender that the email address is valid.
• Take advantage of e-mail filters. Most e-mail programs, even Web-based accounts such as Hotmail, have filters that allow you to block messages from particular people, or that contain specific words or phrases. These filters can help reduce spam of various kinds.
• Know your kids' cyber-friends. Talk with your kids about their e-mail friends as you would
about their real-world friends. That way, you're more likely to spot "stranger danger."
• Consider shared accounts for younger children. Young children should share the family e-mail
address rather than have their own accounts. As they get older and want more independence, you can give them their own address
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