Create a list of Internet house rules with input from your kids.

Encourage your kids to visit only sites that you have approved.

Keep Internet-connected computers in an open area where you can easily supervise their use.

Investigate Internet-filtering tools as a complement—not a replacement—for parental supervision.

Help protect your children from offensive pop-up windows by using pop-up blocking software.

Establish a shared family e-mail account with your Internet Service Provider rather than letting your kids have their own accounts.

Teach your kids to always come to you before giving out information through e-mail, chat rooms, message boards, registration forms, and personal profiles.

Teach your kids not to download programs without your permission—they might unknowingly download spyware or a computer virus.

Use an email filter to block messages from particular people, or those that contain specific words or phrases.

Don't allow your children to use instant messaging (IM) at this age.

Allow your kids to use only monitored chat rooms and message boards on reputable kids' sites.

Talk to your kids about their online friends and activities just as you would about their other activities in the real world where they will start to meet new people.

Talk to your children about healthy sexuality, because kids can easily come across adult content or pornography online.