We suggest following these helpful tips to practice with your children when they are online:
- Keep your child's computer in a public area of your home so you can review their online activity.
- Download parental control software. Parent control software or browser settings can block your children from potentially harmful sites.
- Create filters in your child's Gmail address for addresses with whom you'd like them not to communicate. Learn more about Gmail Filters.
- Have an open conversation with your children about appropriate email communication.
- Advise them to not download attachments from unknown senders. Attachments may contain inappropriate content for young children. Please advise them to alert a guardian if they are unsure if an attachment is safe to download.
- Tell your child to never give identifiable photos or information over email or when chatting on Google Talk. It is especially important to never give this information to unknown users.
For additional online parental control tips, please visit GetNetWise's guide to keeping children safe online: http://kids.getnetwise.org/.
Please note that according to Gmail's terms of service children under the age of 13 may not have a Gmail address.