Kids on the web

We've decided that my oldest son, Nathan, is responsible enough to have an email account, and to have limited internet access.  There were a couple of situations he came across that we've had to educate him about

1. Just like in real life. DON'T TALK TO STRANGERS! Gmail's email accounts for minors handle this pretty well. Nathan doesn't get any emails except from those people on an approved list.
2. Don't participate in chain emails. You know, those "send this on to 5 friends and you'll have a special day", emails.  Nathan has received several of these from friends, and we've told Nathan how they're the digital equivalent of landfill.
3. Any site that requires registration must be approved by us, the parents, first.  This is a no-brainer, really. But even then, we have to be discerning. Recently my son was invited by friends to join some site called Lockerz, where supposedly you win prizes by recruiting more friends, logging in regularly, etc. Just a big marketing scheme to get you on more spam lists.
4. Be careful of what browser-based games they play. Again, we have him run it by us beforehand. Even then, there were a couple I let him play until I learned better.  See this article