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Safely Surfing the Net
The Internet has changed
our world forever. Information on any subject is available
24/7. There are very few restrictions on what people
can put on the Internet which means there are many sites
totally unsuitable for children. Unfortunately, there
are also unscrupulous people in cyberspace who will
happily take advantage of children.
To keep your children safe on the Net
set some basic rules for them. Discuss these rules with
your children and make sure they are totally clear about
the rules and that the rules are non-negotiable (computer
privileges can be suspended when rules are broken).
It may be necessary to make rules that
are appropriate to the age of the child. For smaller
children pin a copy of your family Internet rules near
the computer. Discuss as a family, what sites you consider
inappropriate and why.
Supervision of computer usage is vital.
Again, this may need to be altered to suit the age of
the child, but even teenagers should have someone occasionally
check the sites they choose to surf. If the computer
is in their bedroom set time limits when it can be used
and do random checks of what sites they are surfing.
Explain to children that they should
never, under any circumstances, give out their name,
age, address, phone number or any other personal details
on the Internet. This is particularly true when visiting
chat rooms. Also, children should never send their photo
to anyone without their parents' permission. If you
suspect anyone is showing an interest in obtaining private
information from your child, stop using the site in-question
and report the issue to the site manager. There is usually
a contact email address on the website (or you can contact
your Internet Service Provider).
Be aware of whom your child is making
friends with on-line; just as you would with any friend
they make off line. If your child resents you monitoring
their on-line chats give them a choice of having chats
monitored occasionally or not being allowed to use chats
at all. Emphasize you are doing it for their safety.
Another option to enable children to
surf the net safely is to install software which will
filter what content your child can access on the Net.
These generally work by preventing entry to sites whose
names contain keywords that you put on a banned list.
While these can be very useful in some instances, they
can prevent older children viewing legitimate sites
that they may need to access for homework.
You can also alter settings on your
computer's Internet Browser to prevent some sites from
being accessed. Check with your Internet Service Provider
to see if they may also offer some form of protection.
The Internet is a tool which when carefully
used can be of great benefit. Our children have never
known a world without the Internet and it's up to each
of us to ensure their safety in this exciting (and challenging)
new technological world.
1howto.com
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