The nanny or au pair, child, and parents should sign an Online Safety Contract and post it next to the computer used by the child.
SAMPLE NANNY OR AU PAIR, CHILD & PARENT ONLINE SAFETY CONTRACT:
1. I promise to never tell anyone on the Internet my age.
2. I will never give anyone my address or phone number.
3. I won’t tell anyone my last name or full name.
4. I promise not to give the name of my school or town I live in or school is in to anyone online.
5. I will not talk about my parents online. I will not tell anyone my parents names or about their jobs.
6. I promise not to reply to any email from someone I don’t know. I will log off immediately if I receive an email from someone I don’t know and tell my nanny or parent immediately when I receive the email.
7. I will not enter any online chat rooms. An adult must be with me if I want to enter a chat room.
8. Only parents can receive or send photos by email or online.
9. The nanny, au pair, and child are to never give out the child’s name, age, or contact information over the Internet without first getting a parent’s approval.
10. I will not fill out questionnaires or surveys online.
11. I will never have a face-to-face meeting with someone I have met online.
12. I will not give out a credit card number online without a parent present.
13. Never give out my Internet passwords to anyone (even my best friends) other than my parents.
14. Never do anything online that could hurt or anger other people or that is against the law. I will never make any threats in emails.
15. I will never download, install or copy anything from disks or the Internet without proper permission.
16. I understand that my parents and nanny will randomly monitor my work on the Internet and I will allow them to do so or lose online privileges.
References:
1. kids.getnetwise.org
2. fbi.gov
3. webwisekids.org
4. stopcyberbullying.org
5 comments:
The problem I was having with the children I care for was they were using the Internet too much. They were spending too much time on the computer. They needed to be spending less time emailing their friends and playing computer games and more time just playing in the playroom or outside. But, at the same time they need some computer and online time each week for homework or school projects.
I started a time-out sheet myself without asking the parents before making the sheets. The parents were happy to see the sign-out sheet since it monitored just how much time the kids spend sitting in front of the computer rather than playing outside, reading, or paying with their hundreds of toys.
The problem was that if I wasn't personally monitoring the use myself the children would lie about the amount of time in front of the computer and "forget" to use the time sheet accurately.
Luckily the father found software that turns off the computer once the child is online more than an hour per day. I'm not sure what the name of the software is but that's what has worked best for keeping the kids using just the right amount of time on the computer. They need to be on the computer for homework some days. So, they know that hour is included in their homework time so they better use their online time wisely.
Career Nanny Sally P. in NJ
The parents found some explicit sexual emails between the pre-teen girl I care for and a male friend. Pretty raunchy stuff. Devastating to both the girl's and boy's parents. The parents showed the emails to the boy's parents too, of course. She currently has no cell phone or email usage, which won't solve the problem long-term because the real problem isn't the kids emailing and texting but what they are saying in those communications. Our story just emphasizes why adult careivers must help parents monitor the children's use of the Internet and other technologies. Nanny Dawn
The children in the home I work in all have myspace pages and facebook pages and unlimited Internet use and email use. Basically the parents just turn a blind eye. My biggest issue has been setting a timer to make time used fair. I'll show the parents these ideas for a contract but I already know until something bad happens, they will most likely continue using the interet freely, however they choose. But I appreciate the idea of PREVENTING problems.
F.D. Nanny in Colorado
One of my charges is being bullied via email too. It's imperative to follow the rules written in the contract above. Then, get the parents involved. Cyber bullying is bullying and just as serious as any other form of bullying. I think kids don't need to email or text one another.
This topic is so ultra important and none of my employers (the parents) take it seriously until there is a major problem. They need to enforce these rules long before the children find offensive material online.
Nannies, bring this info with you to each and every job!!
Mickey L. Chicago area
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