Children And The Internet

Managing Your Child’s Online Reputation

• Before allowing your child to use the Internet, it is important that you educate them about the potential dangers associated with using the Internet.
  • Explain to them why they shouldn’t visit certain websites and how they can compromise your child’s safety.
    • Teach them about the dangers of chat rooms and social networking sites.
    • Tell them about online strangers and predators.  Explain that they should not communicate with any strangers on-line just like they are not supposed to in the real world.  Make your child aware that although an online profile might show that the person is the same age as your child, the person may be an adult posing as a child.
    • Explain the importance of keeping personal information private.  Their profile should not show things like the school they go to, the town they live in, their email addresses and more.
    • Stress that your child should never post future plans or their whereabouts.
    • Your home computer should be in a room that is commonly used by your family.
• Use parental controls available to you.
• Familiarize yourself with checking the history of internet usage on your computer.
• Communicate regularly about your child’s online usage.
• Approve all websites before your children access them.
• Be sure to check the content and make sure it is safe before letting your child create any profile on it.
• Be aware of all websites your children access.  If they are social networking sites, parents should have the passwords so they can watch their child’s usage.
• Your computer should always have some sort of antivirus and Internet security software on it.  Make sure it is always updated.
• Check that all of your child’s social networking profiles are private.
• Encourage your child to use your email address for their profile so you can monitor friend requests and messages.
• Make sure you discuss friend requests with your child to make sure that strangers do not have access to your child’s profile information.
• Remember, to protect your child online, parents must educate themselves about the risks associated with the Internet.  If parents are not aware of the potential dangers, it will be harder to ensure your child’s safety.