Source: Examiner.com
Internet safety for families, part 1
By: Kathy Applebee
Children can benefit educationally and socially and find enjoyment on the internet. They also can find great danger from predators, pornography, spamming schemes and cyber bullies. Today we’ll discuss some concrete ways you can protect your children and yourself from hazards that range from mildly annoying to outright life threatening.
First, parents should up their ‘cyber-saviness’. Ignorance is not bliss. Go through an on line safety class with your child. Not only will you be educated, you’ll have a firm foundation of what your child knows. It can also serve to open communication so that if your child runs into problems down the road, the two of you have common ground to start that conversation.
Wiredkids.org has several safe surfing activities you can do you’re your children. Super Safe Kiddo is a type of superhero who has them respond with yes/no to questions like “Only kids are in kid chat rooms” or “I can tell how old a person is”. After they answer, the super hero discusses their answer choices with them. They also offer Sophia’s Safe Surfing Club where they can earn their safe surfing permit.
Disney offers some suggestions for starting a conversation about the Net. Asking the right questions of your child and other adults is the first step to help you understand what your child is doing on line. Some suggested questions are: What sites do you visit? What do you do there? How often/how long do you visit? Did they ask for any information? What did you share? You can download a list of six printable safety tips and an internet agreement.
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