Teaching Internet Safety Tips to Kids

Here are a few important internet safety tips for kids. The internet is a powerful tool for children today. Right at their fingertips, with just the press of a few keys, the world opens up before them. Knowledge, books, advice, educational games, field trips and so much more are there for the taking. Unfortunately, the same dangers exist online as in the real world, with a twist: The children are usually facing it alone.

Rather than letting fear take over and denying your children the knowledge that is available to them, you need to take hold of the reigns and guide them. Just as you had to teach them not to talk to strangers and not to trust everyone whose paths they might cross, you must do the same for the Internet. Learning the dangers yourself is a great step in knowing what your children are up against and how to help them avoid any dangers.

General surfing

• Explain to your child to never give out personal information, ever. Name, address and phone number should never be given out by a child. If your child wishes to send away for something or sign up to use a site (like Disney), first go to a parent and ask permission.
• Surf together often to get a feel for your child's interests and habits. This becomes a great opportunity to demonstrate places that you do not approve of or things that should be avoided.
• Don't judge critically when you see something bad. Let your children know to come to you when they see something like that and not feel that they have to hide it from you. If children think that you will not allow them to use the Internet any longer, they may just hide that much more.
• Become computer savvy with your children. Like street smarts in the real world, knowing the dangers can help to avoid them. Give age-appropriate knowledge. A good rule of thumb is to tell them of the same dangers you would in the real world and safeguard them with the same persistence.

Chat rooms
The Internet has changed the never talk to strangers rule. You have taught your children the dangers of talking to someone they don't know, now you need to teach them how. If your child is going to talk in a chat room, you must establish the rules and the dangers. Make sure your child follows these rules:

• Never give out personal information.
• Never give out passwords.
• Know that people are not always who they say they are.
• Never send a picture of yourself.
• If a question ever makes you feel uncomfortable, don't answer and tell your parent.
• For older children, let them know that this is a dangerous place to flirt.
• Don't ever accept gifts.

We see you
It is important for children to remain anonymous when on the Internet, but it's nearly impossible if you give out even the slightest bit of information.

• Be cautious with e-mail. Send e-mail only to those people that you know and trust. When your child sends an e-mail, the person who receives it gains a wealth of information about where it came from. There are reverse e-mail searches where you can type in an e-mail address and find out who it belongs to. The fact that this technology exists is enough to advise caution.
• Typing your phone number into a search engine could reveal your full name and address. From there, you have the option of searching public records. For a small fee, you could receive a search of criminal records, current location, financial information and a background check. You can also click on a map and find out the driving directions to get to a house. The search also works for partial phone numbers.

The Internet is a wonderful, useful tool that we simply can't afford to deny to your children, but you must know what you're up against and to keep your children safe.