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Safe & Responsible Computing |
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The Internet is a wonderful and exciting place for your child
to learn new things! We teach our
children everyday safety skills like not touching things that are hot,
looking both ways before crossing the street, and not talking to
strangers. Now that the Internet is
entwined in our lives, your child needs a new set of safety skills – how to
be safe on the Internet. The Internet can be just as dangerous as an unsupervised visit
to the park or house party. You need to talk to your child about the dangers
to help them know what to do. Even if you don’t have a computer at home your child has
access at a friend’s house, school and the library. What Can a Parent
Do? If you don’t know anything about computers or the Internet,
try to keep in step with your child. Have them show you as they learn or
check out computer classes in your community.
Good places to look for classes include continuing education programs
offered by your local school district, community colleges and even some
computer stores offer computer classes. As a parent, you’ve worked hard to keep the lines of
communication with your child open.
Just as you talk about current events, what happened at school or
what’s going on in their lives – be sure to talk about the issue of online
safety. Talk with your child about
what they enjoy doing online. This way
you can help them find sites that match their interests and that are safe and
appropriate for their age. In speaking
with your children, stress the importance of not giving out personal
information. Even a question as
innocent as “what’s your school mascot” divulges important information about
your child. More obvious personal information that should never be
revealed online includes:
Monitor how much time your child spends on the computer and
help your child balance this time with other activities like exercise or
visits with friends. Did you know
there are tools available that let you specify how much time your child can
use the computer? Or when? Maybe you only want them online when you’re
home? You can search for this software
feature at www.getnetwise.org/tools. Place your computer in a family room or other public room in
your home. This way you can see what
your child is doing and what pages he/she is visiting. Children are less likely to venture onto
sites you would not approve of if they are being monitored. Establish computer and Internet rules that best fit your
family. Make sure your children
understand the rules and post them near the computer as a reminder. Check out our list of family friendly
rules. You probably know many of your child’s friends and
schoolmates; ake the same effort to learn about their online friends. Warn them that people may misrepresent themselves online. Someone may pretend to be a child but
really be an adult online predator.
The anonymity of the Internet makes it impossible to really know who
are talking to online. Talk to parents of your children's friends about your rules
for Internet activity. Most parents
probably share an agreement on basic rules like smoking, drinking and
unsupervised activity. It’s time to add
online activities to the list. Check out our list of recommended links. You are the best judge of what is or is not
appropriate for your child. The resources
available to us through the Internet are seemingly limitless. The challenge is to find the information
that best suits your needs, is age appropriate, and is current. Don’t limit your visit to this site to the Parents
section. Be sure to check out all the
information on this site – you are sure to find lots of helpful information
and resources designed to help keep your children safe. If you suspect that your child is being pursued by an online
predator act quickly. Call your local
police or the cyber tip line for the Click here for a list of online resources for families. |
