Safety in Cyberspace
Safety Savvy
One of the most effective strategies for keeping your child safe on the Internet is to place your computer in the family room or kitchen rather than in the child's bedroom. He'll be less tempted to access inappropriate material if he knows another family member could walk by at any moment.
The Internet can be a wonderful tool and toy for kids. They can get help with homework, play games, or chat with children around the world.
Unfortunately, they also can be exposed to pornography, violent material, and hate messages. The biggest danger is that kids will communicate unknowingly with child predators who can lure them into dangerous situations. This is not a reason to prevent your children from enjoying the riches the Internet has to offer, but it does mean that you have to arm them with the knowledge of how to protect themselves from harm. It means you have to keep an eye on where your little Web surfer is surfing.
You don't want to act like a spy, but you do want to know how he's spending his time on the Internet. Try this tactic:
Watch Out!
It's harder to control your children's Internet use outside the home. Libraries are struggling with how to restrict the Internet sites children can access on library computers while still providing full access for adults. Some are installing filters or requiring parents to provide written permission for children to use library Internet services. Ask about your library's policy and also that of your child's school.
Since kids often are more adept at computer use than their parents, they love to play teacher to the grown-up. Ask your child to show you some of the tricks he's learned about using the Internet. Let him take you on a visit to his favorite chat rooms or Web sites. Check in periodically under the guise of perfecting your own skills.
Online Safety Rules
Teach your kids these safe-surfing rules:
- Don't give out personal information without your parent's permission, including your full name, address, phone number, name of your school, or anything that would reveal your actual identity. Don't provide information about your family or friends, either.
- Don't meet in person someone you met on-line unless your parents agree that it's okay and they or another adult can accompany you.
- Don't respond to messages or comments in chat rooms that make you feel uncomfortable or threatened. If you respond, it just invites more of the same. Instead, tell your parents or a trusted adult.
Set limits on the amount of time your kids may spend online and what areas on the Internet are appropriate for them to enter. Get their agreement to abide by the rules and to ask permission before venturing into other areas.
Safety Savvy
If you or your child receives information online that you think is illegal or threatening to you or others, contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's 24-hour, toll-free child pornography tip line. Operated in cooperation with the U.S. Customs Service and the Postal Inspection Service, the CyberTipline may be reached at 800-843-5678 or on the Web at www.missingkids.org.
Chat Rooms
Chat rooms enable live conversations with a group of other people. Some have private areas where two or more friends can engage in a private chat. Some have moderators who lead discussions, and others have monitors who will kick someone out for inappropriate language or subject matter.
Chat rooms probably are the most dangerous aspect of the Web for kids. This is the place where strangers make friends. Child predators may enter these sites, strike up conversations with young people, and, in rare cases, lure them into face-to-face meetings.
Explain to your kids that just because a chat room participant identifies herself as a 13-year-old girl doesn't mean she is a 13-year-old. She might actually be a 35-year-old with harmful intentions. A chat room that's for kids only doesn't necessarily have only kids in it.
Safety Savvy
To avoid harassment, girls especially should pick gender-neutral names to use as their identifiers in chat rooms.
Handling Junk E-Mail
Many commercial enterprises send unsolicited e-mail—sometimes called “spam”—to sell their products or services. Some of these businesses may operate sexually explicit web sites and send messages that lure potential customers—and in some cases, kids—to a sample of a site. Return addresses can be deliberately misleading, so a message that looks innocent may not be. If you receive objectionable material through e-mail, contact your Internet service provider so it can investigate its origin.
Web Site Safety
Some kids set up their own Web sites, or home pages, through their schools or their home Internet providers. If your child wants to try it, caution her not to put her address, phone number, or photo on the site.
Safety Savvy
“Kids and Company: Together for Safety” is the title of a personal-safety curriculum for grades K-8 that was developed by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Endorsed by such leading groups as the National Education Association and the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the program can be used in both schools and community groups. For more information, call 800-892-7430.
When visiting Web sites, kids sometimes encounter an offer to enter a contest or receive a promotional item. These usually require them to enter information about themselves. Typically, this data is used for marketing products. Tell your kids to check with you before providing any data to a Web site.
Filtering Software
If you feel you need help setting Internet limits for your child, look into software that screens out unwanted content. Some such child-friendly Internet software allows you to preselect the sites you want your children to be able to access, and keep your kids from entering chat rooms. No system is foolproof, however. For this reason, it's important to establish clear guidelines about what your child can and cannot do when using the Internet.
Many Internet providers make these types of controls available for free with their service. Check your provider to see what it offers.
Excerpted from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Child Safety © 2000 by Miriam Bacher Settle, Ph.D., and Susan Crites Price. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Used by arrangement with Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
To order this book visit Amazon's web site or call 1-800-253-6476.
