How to Teach Kids about Online Safety
Keeping your child safe while using the Internet is every parent's main concern. With the increase in popularity of the Internet, more children are now computer literate. Teaching them sensible habits regarding how to be safe while online is the first step toward ensuring they surf safely, according to James Withers of Walden University. Common sense and vigilance from both parents and children will ensure your child can benefit from the wealth of information available on the Internet.
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Instructions
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Talk with your child about the dangers of the Internet. If he is old enough to use the Internet, he is old enough to learn about the danger it poses. Be sure to cover all possible threats and not just the obvious one such as Internet sex offenders. Cyber bullying is also a huge problem and affects up to half of all American teens, according to the National Crime Prevention website.
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Explain the dangers of children posting pictures of themselves and their friends as well as personal information. It is important that any pictures they do post do not have any information in them such as street signs or car registration details. Tell your child that she should not reveal her home address, school or telephone number to anyone over the Internet, even if she believes she knows the person well. Explain to your child that not everything or everyone on the Internet is honest.
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Discuss the dangers of talking to strangers in chat rooms, especially as most computer sex offenders nearly always meet their victims this way, according to the FBI website. Be honest with your children and answer any questions they may have regarding the use of online chat facilities. Impress on them that under no circumstances are they to meet people they have met online in real life.
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Communicate with your child regularly about what she has done during her Internet sessions. Encouraging her to be open and honest should prevent her from being secretive with you. Your child will appreciate the trust you have placed in her and will be less likely to do something to lose this trust.
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Establish rules about when and for how long you children can use the Internet. Be clear about the websites you do not wish them to visit and give them the reasons why. Many social networking sites require a person to be at least 13 years of age before he or she can join. If your child is younger than this, do not allow him to join and block the site using your parental controls. Most sites have no way of checking the person's age.
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Tips & Warnings
Place your home computer where it is visible to you. This will allow you to keep an eye on your child without making him feel you arer invading his privacy.
All computers have parental controls that you can activate to ensure your child does not visit sites over a certain age level, prevents them from downloading and can prevent them from receiving emails from strangers. The settings for parental controls are usually located in the control panel of your computer.
If you suspect someone of trying to have an inappropriate online relationship with your child, contact law enforcement immediately.
As well as keeping personal information confidential, impress on your child the importance of keeping passwords a secret. According to information on the Microsoft website, up to 70% of eight- to nine-year-old children have given out their passwords to strangers.
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