SAFETY IN CHAT ROOMS AND THE INTERNET:

Parental controls MUST be placed on a child using the Internet. They must ALWAYS assume that whoever is on the other end of the computer talking to them is a stranger. Just like when dealing with strangers on the telephone, personal information must NEVER be given over the Internet. Here is some information a child should specifically be told NOT to ever give out:

Their real name
Address
Telephone number
The name of their school
The city they live in
What time they get out of school

They MUST be told NEVER to physically meet with someone they've met over the Internet without your full knowledge.

UNDERSTANDING DISTANCES:

If a person gets within six inches of your child's face, your child will immediately feel uncomfortable. Do you know why?

Most people answer this question by saying that the person is invading their personal space. To some extent, that is true. But if a person you greatly dislike were to walk into a room that you are in, you might yell at them to get away or get out of the room. They also invaded your personal space, but at a distance far greater than six inches. Why does personal space vary at different distances?

INTIMATE DISTANCE SPACE:

The REASON that your child will immediately feel uncomfortable when someone gets within six inches of their face is because there are only TWO reasons why a person gets that close to you:

1) They are telling someone a secret.
2) They are being intimate.

If someone is telling your child a secret (such as their best friend), the child actually allows the person to get close to them. The key here is that it is ALLOWED.