Helpful Parental Involvement: Tips to Prevent Sexting

Five tips that you can share with your son or daughter to make them more aware of the risks of sending provocative photos or video to others.

* THINK ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES of taking, sending, or forwarding a sexual picture of someone underage, even if it’s of you. You could get kicked off of sports teams, face humiliation, lose educational opportunities, and even get in trouble with the law.

* NEVER TAKE images of yourself that you wouldn’t want everyone—your classmates, your teachers, your family, or your employers—to see.

* BEFORE HITTING SEND , remember that you can’t control where this image may travel. What you send to a boyfriend or girlfriend could easily end up with their friends, and their friends, and their friends.

* IF YOU FORWARD a sexual picture of someone underage, you are as responsible for this image as the original sender. You could face child pornography charges, go to jail or be forced to register as a sex offender.

* REPORT any nude pictures you receive on your cell phone, computer or over Xbox LIVE to an adult you trust. Do not delete the message. Instead, get your parents or guardians, teachers, and school counselors involved immediately.

Resources for this article provided by NetSmartz.org and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

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