Chicago can seem like a big scary city. There are a lot of great and fun things to do, but it is also easy to get off the beaten path and find trouble. The Internet is a lot like that. It can be an amazing resource for knowledge, creativity, research, and fun, but you can also find trouble. Just like you wouldn’t allow your child to wander around a big city like Chicago unchaperoned, so to should you monitor your child’s activity on the Internet.
If you don’t spend a lot of time on the Internet discovering it’s many secrets may seem like a daunting task. It doesn’t have to be, and it might lead to greater communication between you and your children. Here are some basic safety tips.
- Educate yourself
- Find out what goes on at Facebook, MySpace and other social networking sites. Find out how chat, IM (instant messaging) and file sharing work.
- Communication
- Talk to your children about protecting their identity online. Stranger danger exists on the Internet too – the false sense of safety on the Internet might make it seem all right to give out information to strangers. Don’t!
- Find out what sites your children visit. Start a conversation about why they are drawn to them and what makes them exciting.
- Talk to your children about pornography and other inappropriate content and what to do if they come across it.
- Talk to your children about bullying and hate speech. Give your children options on how they can talk to you about these difficult subjects.
- Manage your children’s time on the Internet. The Internet can be an appropriate place to work and play, but young people shouldn’t have free range at all times.
- Keep computers out of children’s bedrooms. The best places for computers in homes with young children are out in the open where usage can be monitored.
The Internet is enormous and ever expanding. No one person can know all of it, but if you start to educate yourself now you can begin a healthy conversation with your child about staying safe.
We have compiled some links to start your conversation about web safety. Head to following web address to check them out: http://tinyurl.com/62websafe.
