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Unfortunately protecting your child online is not as easy as it used to be. As a parent you must absolutely play a very active role in your child's education when introducing them to the Internet.
Today one of the most perilous threats to your child's online safety is online sexual predators.
It is estimated that with over one million pedophiles online, your child has a 1 in 4 chance of being approached in an online chat room or through an instant message.
Worse still, if your child has a personal blog, where they have posted pictures of themselves, the chances of such a contact increases dramatically.
Long gone are the days when parents could allow the computer to be an unsupervised activity. But as a parent, it's not always easy to know the best way to handle certain situations or what guidelines you should lay down for your child to follow when they are surfing the Internet.
To protect your child, read through these simple guidelines that are easy to follow.
- Always get permission from Mom or Dad before using the computer. As crazy as it sounds, parents now routinely use the computer as a convenient babysitter, not realizing the dangers their child is facing when she is online.
- Tell your child to always use Internet "screen names". Never reveal her real name, where she goes to school, her phone number or where she lives.
- Always tell mom and dad if they receive any email, instant message or chat that makes her uncomfortable in any way whatsoever.
- Never respond to threatening emails or messages. Instead, she should save that message as a text file to a special folder on their desktop so that mom and dad can take appropriate actions, i.e. contacting the authorities if necessary.
- Never trade or post personal photographs in the mail or over the Internet. If she does post a personal picture on her personal blog, make sure that the picture does not reveal any information in the background that might give an online predator a clue as to where your child lives or what school she goes to.
- Never agree to meet anyone in real life that she has met online. This is one of the most dangerous things that a child can do. If she truly wants to meet someone, she should be willing to let you chat with the individual first, and go with her to supervise the meeting.
- Never tell anyone (except mom and dad) her password or login info. Disreputable individuals may capture her personal information and go online pretending to be your child.
- Never accept any invitation to go into private chat room. Remember, due to the anonymity that the internet provides, your child has no real way of knowing who is really on the other end. Chances are someone maybe trying to get your child alone and solicit her for sex, either online or offline.
- Never accept everything someone says online. People lie - make sure your child knows this. Again, the internet provides a way for anyone to pretend to be anyone. Just because something is said online doesn't make it true.
- Teach your child to tell you if she have new “friends”. Practice her to introduce her “friends” to you online.
Discipline your child not to use the computer without your permission. In fact, if your child has her own computer in her room, relocate it to a public space like the family room. This will make it easier for you to monitor her online activities.
One of the best ways to manage all these online dangers is to install an internet filtering software. One of the recommended softwares to monitor your child’s online activities is PC Tattletale. Many families have used this software to protect their children. You should consider it seriously as well. Your child’s safety is priceless; please invest on such software for their well-being. Do it now… because you love your child so much!
Dad/Mom, click here for you child’s safety and well-being!
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