Internet Safety: Guidelines for Students and Parents

Wellesley Public Schools believes in strong partnerships between home and school. The student/parent resources below will help educators and parents, together, empower young people to harness the power of the Internet and digital technology for learning and life — both in the classroom and at home.

We take Internet safety very seriously at school and urge you to do the same at home. The guidelines for students and for parents were adapted from Commonsensemedia.org. Please visit the student/parent resources at the bottom of the page for helpful information such as family media agreements and tip sheets, instructions for safety settings on MAC and PC, and more.

Guidelines for Students

  • Be mindful of how much time you spend in front of a screen, continue to enjoy other activities and people in your life.
  • Never enter information about yourself online without first checking with your parents. Never include home address, telephone number, school, photographs or passwords.
  • Never go alone to meet someone you know only from the Internet. Any meeting should be in a public place with a trusted adult present.
  • Don’t tell anyone anything online that you would not want others to know.
  • If you are made uncomfortable in a chat room, leave it. Don’t put up with rudeness, bullying, or provocative chat.
  • Report threatening, harassing, or abusive messages or pictures to your parents.
  • Do not answer threatening or obscene emails or chat room messages.
  • Never download anything unless it is from a trusted source. Do not click on anything in an email unless it is from someone you know.

Guidelines for Parents

  • Recognize that media is a big part of your student’s life. Talk to them about what worries you and why. Keep an open dialog with your student.
  • Talk about what it means to “balance” time spent with technology, media, and other activities. Identify some steps your family can take to balance screen time with face-to-face time.
  • Set screen time limits and don’t be afraid to enforce them. Consider making the dinner table a device-free zone, in which no family member (not even the adults) may use a cell phone, tablet, or computer.
  • Set reasonable expectations for online behavior. Tell your student never to respond to threatening or obscene messages.
  • Talk with your student about online interests and friends and ask to see the sites she/he visits.
  • Harassment is a crime. If your teen receives obscene or threatening messages or pornography contact your Internet service provider and the police.
  • If you install filtering software or parental controls, remember that nothing is 100% foolproof. No software can replace talking to your teen.

Student/Parent Resources

Filtering, Parental Controls and Privacy Settings