The computer and the internet have become lifelines to children and teenagers. It is the new way to communicate with friends and do homework.

Family Safety: Issues Related to Children and Internet Safety

The computer and the internet have become lifelines to children and teenagers. It is the new way to communicate with friends and do homework. It is important though, to teach your child about proper internet safety which also encompasses family safety.

Ensuring child safety

One thing children need to be aware of is that there are hidden people and dangers lurking out there in cyberspace. With the increased fascination and the dangers related to it, parents need to be aware of their child safety while on the internet, otherwise also known as internet safety. There are precautions that a parent should take to protect their children.
•    Make sure your child knows that the internet should be used for homework only.
•    If the children are allowed to surf the web, parents should not authorize unnecessary or un-trusted sites.
•    Parents should give their child a list of trusted sites that they are allowed to access.
•    Parents also need to teach their children how to change their passwords every three months and explain why it is important.

Don’t leak personal information

When your children are registering on an approved site and the information that they ask for includes things like address, school name, picture apart from other personal information don’t allow the children to finish filling out the form. This is a perfect way for an internet pedophile to trap a child. Children should not be allowed to download anything without getting parent’s permission. Some of these downloads can contain inappropriate content. As a matter of fact, parents can also lock certain sites that are disturbing by contacting the service provider.

Social sites nuisances

Parents should teach their children about social sites like Myspace, orkut and twitter etc. These social networking sites have been proven to be a number one site for misuse. Some teenagers have committed suicide over postings that have been done on Myspace. A lot of parents today are banning it for their child’s safety. Messengers are another area that parents should warn their kids about. The children need to be told that it is okay to have friends on the list but if someone they don’t know pops up, they should refuse and block them immediately.

Yes today, the computer has been a social network for children but with parents knowing the proper internet safety tips. it can also be safe with just a few simple steps.

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