How to Let Your Children Surf the Web

Children can sometimes be exposed to offensive material on the Internet.

While the Internet offers children a wealth of useful information as well as a chance to socialize and entertain themselves, it also contains offensive or hateful material and it may allow online predators to enter into contact with them via instant messaging or chat rooms. By setting up a few simple guidelines, installing filtering programs and using appropriate supervision, you can create a safe online environment for your children.

Instructions

1. Teach your children basic rules about Internet safety and why it is important to follow them. For example, remind your children not to meet people they have only talked to online and encourage them to report any suspicious user or website to you. Promote dialogue and talk to your children about the dangers associated with sharing personal information or pictures with strangers over the Internet.

2. Set up child-appropriate filters on your favorite search engine. Most search engines, such as, for example, Bing, Yahoo! or Google, allow parents to set up a filter which prevents offensive material from coming up in the search results. You can usually set up such a content filter by accessing a link on the search engine's homepage. Consult your favorite search engine's documentation if you need help setting up a content filter.

3. Install filtering software on your computer. Several companies sell filtering programs which automatically deny access to websites containing adult, drug-related or hateful content. This kind of filtering software also usually allows you to set up individual profiles with customized filtering levels, which can be useful if children of different age groups, such as young children and teenagers, share the same computer.

4. Prevent your children from accessing the Internet when adults are not around. You can do this by password-protecting the computer. Most operating systems, such as Windows or MacOS, allow you to set up a password which a user must enter before being able to use the computer. On Windows, you can set up such a password in the "User Accounts & Family Safety" section of the Control Panel.

References

• U.S. Department of Health & Human Services: Parents Should Screen Kids' Summer Web Surfing
• National Center for Mission & Exploited Children: What Risks Do Children Face Online?
• National Center for Mission & Exploited Children: What Are Some Guidelines I Should Set for my Children's Internet Usage?
• National Center for Mission & Exploited Children: How Can I Filter Out Offensive Content so my Children Can Search Online?