Your Youngsters On The World Wide Web - How To Guard Them

By Carlos Montebello Xavier


Watching your children every minute they are online is not the only way to keep them safe. Is there a way to not watch them all the time, but still protect them? Ideally you want to be able to trust your kids and be confident that they have enough common sense to avoid trouble. However, you also have to provide some guidance at times. When your children are on the internet, they need some freedom, and the following tips will show you how, while still protecting them.

Talk to your children about internet safety. When you are quizzing your kids about what they've been up to online, or when you've placed specific limits on them, let them know that you're just doing it because you're concerned and want to look after them. Kids won't necessarily appreciate this, of course, but it might make them more comfortable talking to you if they ever do encounter a problem. Make sure they fully comprehend the potential dangers of using the internet, and that they understand that many people lie about who they are on the internet. The more you openly talk to your children about your concerns and invite them to keep you informed about anything that makes them uncomfortable, the safer they'll be.

Your child needs to feel free to talk to you about things like this, just in case they do reach this extreme. If you find out that someone is bullying your child online, you can notify the site or platform that the bully is using, notify the school or perhaps the child's parents.

It is too bad that there are so many predators seeking children online, and of all the different places they are at, chatrooms seem to be where they are the most. According to the FBI, a child going into any kind of public chatroom will almost certainly be contacted by such a predator. Unfortunately, this sad fact of modern life is true. Younger children do not belong in chatrooms, because they are not old enough to know who to trust, especially without supervision. It is important to be wary of the people you meet online,especially if you are underage, and never give them your photograph or any personal information. Aside from chatrooms, another area to watch is AOL Instant Messenger, because predators use this way to contact children.

When it comes to online safety for kids, you also have to consider mobile phones. If your child has a cell phone, or especially a smart phone, this is another way to access the internet and possibly receive messages from strangers. Given that cell phones are dual purpose these days, your kids need to be aware of the danger of this device and make sure they use it wisely. There are quite a few mobile phones that have GPS as a feature, this can not only find pals for you, but they can find you as well. That is more motivation to keep a close watch on your children, the sites they visit online and supervise. It's not that difficult to protect children from potential online dangers, but it does take some diligence. As trusting as you may be with your child, they need to be very careful when surfing the net, given the many risks it can pose. Maintaining a constant vigil over your children and where they go on the internet, will give you a sense of security.

An effective way to develop a positive family environment is to take plenty of pictures of your kids and put them up throughout the house. This could be relatively inexpensively if you possess the right kind of printing device. To make certain, talk with your neighborhood personal computer shop today.




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