Whether taking online classes or playing video games with their friends, your children are most likely spending more time connected to their computers.

Online access comes with risks, like inappropriate content, cyberbullying, and online predators. Using apps and websites where kids interact, predators may pose as a child or teen looking to make a new friend. They might coax a child to exchange personal information, such as their address and phone number, or encourage kids to call them, seeing their phone number via caller ID.

Parents should be aware of what their kids see and hear on the Internet, who they meet, and what they share about themselves. Talk with your kids, use tools to protect them, and keep an eye on their activities.

Child safety advocate Kidshealth provides some basic guidelines to share with your kids on safe online use:

• Never reveal personal information, such as your address, phone number, or school name or location.
• Never post or trade personal pictures.
• Use only a screen name and don’t share passwords (other than with parents).
• Never agree to get together in person with anyone met online without parental approval and/or supervision.
• Never respond to a threatening email, message, post, or text.
• Always tell a parent or other trusted adult about any communication or conversation that was scary or hurtful.

Basic guidelines for parental supervision:

• Spend time online together to teach your kids appropriate online behavior.
• Keep the computer in a common area where you can watch and monitor its use, not in individual bedrooms. Monitor any time spent on smartphones or tablets.
• Bookmark kids’ favorite sites for easy access.
• Check your credit card and phone bills for unfamiliar account charges.
• Find out what, if any, online protection is offered by your child’s school, after-school center, friends’ homes, or any place where kids could use a computer without your supervision.
• Take your child seriously if he or she reports an uncomfortable online exchange.

Talk to your kids! Keep an open line of communication and make sure that they feel comfortable turning to you when they have problems online.