Teaching Kids about Internet Safety
It is hard to be a parent these days – there are violent, sex-filled television shows on in the middle of the day, the music they listen to is atrocious and there are criminals and creeps lurking in their schoolyards. Even if you eliminate all of these threats completely, (as if you could), there is still another one that is sitting right in your home, just waiting to lure in innocent Jenny and Jimmy. That threat is the internet, which is beckoning them to play innocent looking games or talk to their friends while it works its way into their lives, learning all of their secrets. Even though most computers have some parental control features, it is not always enough. There has to be a way not only to teach kids more about internet safety, but to make sure that they can only get to the sites that are approved by you. A typical web browser does not care how old you are or where you want to go, and you just give it the keywords and away you go. Little Jimmy could innocently, or not so innocently, type in a word that he thinks is “naughty” and suddenly little Jimmy is not so innocent any longer. Considering what passes for humor in the mind of a little boy, the keywords he might use could bring up sites that would make a sailor blush. Using a browser for kids can be an answer, especially if you can get one that keeps little Jimmy out of porn sites when he is surfing. Kids email is another must-have tool for parents. You can try it for free and see the wonders that it can provide you, including peace of mind. With kids email, you can monitor all their incoming and outgoing email. You can remove any unwanted links, images and any stuff that you feel is harmful for your kids. You can also create a custom contact list which prevents any unwanted sources trying to reach your kids. It is vital to teach kids about the internet and the many kinds of danger that are lurking there. It is never too early to start talking about identity theft for instance, and how you should never give your personal information out to anybody, nor should it be posted. If your children have their own social media page, make sure that you have access to it and check it frequently, and if they protest, then they should not be allowed to use the computer at all, it is that simple. You should be looking to make sure that your child is not giving out full information like his last name, address or date of birth, which is all that a savvy thief needs to set up a fraudulent account in some cases. You should also see if your child has made any interesting “new” friends that they are not talking about so that there are no ugly surprises later down the road. Your child should know the rules and abide by them, including not hiding or suddenly logging out of the computer when you walk in the room. It is important that the computer be kept in an open location, especially for those age groups that are at the highest risk!
Jacob Andersen received a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Brigham Young University and an MBA from Utah State University. He is committed to using his knowledge and expertise to keeping kids safe online.”The safety of our children is the mission of KidsEmail.org and MyKidsBrowser.com,” Andersen said.”Any profits made are reinvested into the development and advertising of new child safety products.”
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