Surfing online can be a dangerous place for adults let alone kids. With over a billion personal computers in homes and businesses today, the amount of internet traffic is soaring and unfortunately so are the online predators. Keeping your kids safe online is as important as keeping them safe from harm offline. Parents can help children learn safety in surfing and general usage of the computer.
These tips focus on computer safety for kids while surfing the net, chatting in online rooms, social networking and more.
Online Safety for Kids Tip #1
Keep your personal information personal. Talk to kids about the importance of keeping their personal information to themselves. This includes address (both street and email addresses), phone numbers, last name and other information that strangers don't need to know. Although it's exciting for kids to meet new people online there is no real way of telling who is exactly on the other side of the computer monitor. So play it safe and keep your personal information to yourself.
Keeping Kids Safe Online Tip #2
Set rules for your children and your computer. Lay down the rules to your kids. Discuss when they can use the computer to search the web and for what purpose. Keep computers in an open common area if possible. If the computer is in their room, make it a rule that the bedroom door must be open while the computer is in use. Make sure everyone understands and agrees to these rules and set consequences when the rules are broken.
Add additional safeguards by using parental controls on your computers. Set controls that will block explicit websites or potentially harmful sites to your kids and your computer. Depending on the age of your child, you may also want additional software that can also monitor how they use the web – what they surf, chat room chatter and email traffic.
Computer Safety for Kids Tip #3
Honesty is the best policy. Talk to your kids about being themselves while in chat rooms or social networking sites. Pretending to be older than they are can set them up for potential danger. Acting older can attract the wrong person and situations. Staying honest is a good rule for many things in life. Of course, this doesn't mean they should by pass tip #1. They need to be honest without giving out personal information. If asked for this type of information they should just politely state they cannot or will not give out that information or simply leave the chat room if the other person persists. Have them report to you any conversations that make them feel uncomfortable. If need be, block that site with your parental controls.
These are just a handful of tips that can make your kids safer online and make you feel more comfortable about their computer usage. As parents it can be tough to keep an eye on things all the time, but if you communicate with your kids, set rules and parental controls you are one step closer to online safety for your kids.
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