Helping children be smart, confident explorers of the online world

To make the most of the Internet, kids need to be prepared to make informed decisions. This program teaches kids the fundamentals of digital citizenship and safety so they can explore the online world with confidence. Kids can play their way to being Internet awesome with Interland, an online adventure that puts the key lessons of digital safety into hands-on practice with four challenging games.

So far, we’ve rolled this program out in the US, Latin America, and many countries in Europe and the Middle East. We have even taken this curriculum directly to schools in the U.S. as part of an Online Safety Roadshow to help teens learn how to be smart and safe online.

Together with your children, search online for yourself or a musician that they love, and talk about what you find. You may want to check the results in advance. Talk about what others can learn about you from these results and how you develop a digital footprint online.

Make sure your child knows that what friends share online is just one part of the whole story, and it’s usually the highlights. Remind them that everyone also has boring, sad, or embarrassing moments that they don’t share.

Set clear expectations for your family about what not to share online, like photos or private info. Practice taking a few photos together and talk about what responsible sharing looks like. For example, encourage your child to think before sharing photos not just of themselves but of others too. Remind them to ask permission if they aren’t sure.

Brainstorm solutions for oversharing, like taking down what was shared or fixing privacy settings. If it happens, help keep things in perspective. Some embarrassing moments are serious, but others are just good learning moments.

Explain to them why someone might want to get ahold of their passwords or private data. With this information, someone could use their account and pretend to be them.

Your children may not realize that people might try to trick them into giving up their personal info. Teach them to come to you if they get a message, link, or email that’s from a stranger, asks for account info, or has a strange-looking attachment.

Let your children know that some tricky scams look like they’re coming from a friend. Even savvy adults get fooled! If a message seems off, have them check in with you. Responding to their concerns seriously helps build trust.

Visit a website together and look for signs of security. Does the URL have a padlock next to it or does it start with https, which means it’s secure? Does the URL match the site name? Help point out the signs they should be looking for when they arrive on a site.

Teach them how to turn a memorable phrase into a strong password. Use at least eight mixed-case letters and change some to symbols and numbers. For example, “My younger sister is named Ann” becomes myL$1Nan. Help them understand what makes a weak password, like using your own address, birthday, 123456, or “password,” which are easy for someone to guess.

Talk about what info they should keep private – like their home address, passwords, or the school they attend. Encourage them to come to you if they’re asked for information like this.

Teach them to think twice before entering their password anywhere and double-check that it’s the right app or site. When in doubt, they should come talk to you before entering anything. Additionally, encourage them to have different passwords for different apps and sites. They can have one main password that they add a few letters to for each app.

Remind them that they can help prevent others from accessing their accounts to send fake or embarrassing messages by keeping their passwords private.

Talk about online harassment or times when people use online tools to be intentionally hurtful to others. Plan who your children could come to if they see or experience it. Ask if they or their friends have experienced online meanness. Some questions you could ask are: What form did it take? How did it feel? Did you think you had the power to help stop it by perhaps telling someone about a mean comment?

Be clear about how you expect them to act online. Treating others as they’d want to be treated and saying online only what they would say face to face are great places to start.

Talk about tone of voice and remind your kids that it’s easy to misinterpret someone’s meaning online. Encourage them to assume good intent and talk to friends directly if they’re unclear about someone’s meaning. Talk about how good it feels to send and receive positive messages online. Consider using one of your own apps together to send a positive comment or message.

Spend time talking about how your family uses technology. Show an interest in the apps your children use the most and ask for a tour. Find out how they use their apps and what they like about them.

Set rules for your children’s accounts, like content filters and time limits, and let your kids know these may change as they get older. Settings should evolve over time. Don’t just “set it and forget it.”

Identify three trusted people they can go to if they come across stuff online that makes them feel uncomfortable. A trusted person can help them process what they saw and prevent their seeing more like it in the future.

Encourage them to engage with games and apps that teach them creativity or problem-solving skills.