With the internet becoming readily available to people from all ages, child safety is becoming a rising concern for parents. While this isn't a threat in a secure, controlled environment like the internet access children get at school, it becomes more important at home where your children have free access to a computer.
Like in real life, you can't always be there to protect your kids; you have to teach them to be able to look out for themselves and stay safe. Here are a few tips you can take to educate your children in proper internet useage:
Parental Controls - like cable TVs and dvd players, computers have parental filters that you can set to filter out programs that you don't want your kids to access. You can also use the parental control to monitor your child's internet activities.
Explain to your child that most of the rules that apply to real life also apply to internet security. The safety basics are especially important. At the top of the list though, is NOT giving personal information out to strangers, particularly address and phone number, as this is all too easy to do online.
Make sure that your child realizes that not all information on the internet is true. There is as much misinformation and bogus scams online as there are in the physical world. While the internet is a valuable source of information and is already an established tool for modern research and education, children should be taught to approach you or their school teachers to confirm the validity of information that they acquire online.
Instruct your children in proper netiquette. Just because a person can't see them face to face, they shouldn't disregard the rules of good social behavior. Remaining polite and avoiding harsh language should be drilled into them, as people tend towards verbal abuse online because contact is anonymous. Conversely, you should also encourage your children to come to you if they are on the receiving end of such verbal abuse online.
While children will be able to meet other people through online chat rooms and online games, you should insist that they DO NOT meet those other people in person. If they insist on doing so, make sure that you chaperone them to ensure your child's safety.
Lastly, it's a sad fact that our children these days learn so fast that they usually wind up knowing more about the internet than we do. Don't sweat it. You can actually use this as a bonding opportunity with your child, asking your little boy or girl to help you learn more about the internet. Aside from the bonding, this also gives your child more self confidence.
New! Ezy-Internet Safety Guide is the perfect blueprint to the truth about Internet safety. Learn everything you need to know about making your computer safer, safety software that works and how to avoid all the nasty spyware, malware, viruses, worms and trojans.
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