Now that school is out, thousands of children will be surfing the Internet to stay in touch with friends and family, play online games, and complete summer camp assignments.
Although the Internet provides a tremendous learning tool for children, left unchecked it can also expose them to inappropriate material and unscrupulous individuals looking to exploit innocent children.
The statistics of online abuse towards children are alarming. According to the new survey conducted by NetAlert, nearly one child in every five using the Internet has been approached online by a stranger, and 47 percent of children have been exposed to material that is pornographic, sexually explicit, violent, hateful, or that encourages them to participate in dangerous or illegal activities.
These cyber criminals are using everything from spam emails to online messaging, children’s chat rooms, and misleading domain names to trap children. If your child is using the Internet, you must take measures to educate and protect them from these dangers. Below, are 3 things you should be doing now to keep your kids safe online:
Install Internet and email filtering software to prevent your children from viewing inappropriate material.
Not only will this keep the trash off your computer screen, but it will also stop inappropriate spam from reaching your children.
Talk to your kids about online safety and proper Internet usage.
Set limits and guidelines about what they can do, and how long they are allowed to be online. Explain why it is dangerous for them to “chat” with strangers online or download suspicious looking files.
Below is a list of rules for kids to follow online:
Give your children specific online guidelines or rules to follow when using the Internet. It’s not enough to warn them about potential risks; pedophiles know how to cloak their identity and gain a child’s confidence to arrange face-to-face meetings. Below is list of rules for kids to follow online:
- I will not give out personal information such as my address, telephone number, parents’ work address or telephone number to anyone online.
- I will not give out the name and location of the school I attend to anyone online.
- I will tell my parents right away if I see a web site, email or message that makes me feel uncomfortable.
- I will never send my picture to anyone online, or upload my picture to any web site without my parents knowledge and permission.
- I will never agree to meet someone face-to-face that I met online without my parents knowledge and permission.
- I will not respond to any messages that are mean or that make me feel uncomfortable in any way. If I get a message like that, I will tell my parents right away so that they can contact the online service.
- I will never give my parent’s financial information out to anyone, especially their credit card information, bank account information, or social security number.
If you want more information on how to keep your children safe online or to report illegal, violent, or explicit acts towards children, go to www.cybertipline.com. This site is run by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and is a great resource for parents, teachers, and guardians.
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