Moore Police Shares Tips To Keep Kids Safe Online

With the beginning of the school year looming, the Moore Police Department is sharing ways to keep children safe online.

While many parents may post photos of their children on social media for their first day of school, Moore Police said parents should be careful about how much they share online.

Byley said posting identifiers like this can make children an easy target for predators looking to use even the slightest of information.

However, dangers aren’t just online, and parents should be sure to avoid using identifiers when you label their backpacks and jackets as well.

What To Avoid Displaying Online Or In Public:

1. Your child's full name.
2. What school your child attends.
3. The name of your child's teacher or teachers.
4. What grade level your child is in.

"So I think a really cool way to personalize your students items is to maybe like monogram shapes [or] animals, stuff like that," Byley said. "If we’re talking about younger students, of course, you can monogram those and put them inside of a backpack or lunchbox, that way you can easily identify your child's item.”

What You Can Do Instead:

1. Nameless tags to identify items such as bookbags and lunchboxes.
2. Signs or stickers that don't identify your child.
3. Social media posts without your child being easily distinguishable.
4. Know your child's schedule including any after-school activities, and establish a drop-off and pickup plan if necessary.

Moore Police said the golden rule in all of this is to be sure to have the stranger danger talk with your child, and to be mindful of how much information is being shown whether its online or in-person.