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As if helping navigate your
children through the daily ups and downs of the middle school years wasn’t
confusing enough, now you have to grapple with how to help your pre-teens safely
through a whole new realm – the virtual world of the Internet.
The Internet has been a true
innovation for kids – here they can socialize via instant messaging, post
their own web pages, access information and talk with people from all walks of
life. But it has also opened up a world of potential threats. Keeping your
children safe from those things you know they are not emotionally or
intellectually ready to handle can be a challenge, especially at an age when
they naturally want more freedom to explore new ideas and relationships.
Here are some of the online hazards
children may come upon, along with suggestions that families can use to help
ensure that their children are safely and responsibly exploring the Internet:
Meeting someone harmful
online
Unbeknownst to your children, the
12-year-old Star Wars fan they meet in a chat room may actually be a 42-year-old
sexual predator. To prevent them from unintentionally becoming involved with
someone harmful:
- Talk with them about the fact
that the people they meet online may not really be who they say they are and
may want to do them harm.
- Take an interest in the friends
your children meet online, just as you would the friends they meet at
school.
- Prohibit or monitor your
children’s use of chat functions. Preview the chat rooms they use, and
make sure their screen names do not identify them as children.
- If your child has a web page,
know what’s on it. Make sure it does not include their photos, contact
information or other private family details.
- Instruct your children NEVER to
meet face-to-face with online acquaintances. Let them know this is the
single greatest danger the Internet presents to their safety and welfare.
- Install blocking software or a
filter to limit the sites your children can visit or restrict them from
giving out their names, addresses and phone numbers or those of your family
and friends.
- If you suspect online
"stalking" or sexual exploitation, report it to the police. You
can also visit the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s
website: www.missingkids.com.
Inappropriate material
Every family has its own definition
of what is inappropriate. On the Internet, this may include sites that are
sexual in nature, contain violent or hateful material, or advocate the use of
weapons or harmful substances. To protect your child:
- Set rules about where your kids
can go online and what to do if they happen upon inappropriate sites. http://www.safekids.com
includes suggestions for creating a family Internet policy and printable
contracts.
- Keep computer(s) in a public
area of the house. When your children are online, walk into the room
periodically and check on the sites they visit.
- Set up Internet accounts in your
name and be the guardian of the password.
- Limit when your children can use
the Internet. Getnetwise.com
includes information on time-limiting software that prevents kids from going
online when you are not around.
- Be aware of other computers your
children may be using (i.e., in friends’ homes) and make sure they are
being supervised.
Sorting fact from fiction
With so many sites to visit, it’s
easy to be overwhelmed by information. To limit the range of sites your children
have to choose from and to help them develop a "critical eye:"
- Require your children to use
only kid-friendly search engines, such as Yahooligans at www.yahooligans.com
and Ask Jeeves for Kids at www.ajkids.com.
- Encourage them to question
information they find online. By visiting sites with them, you can help them
make sense of the material they find and teach them to tell the difference
between facts, opinions, rumors and lies.
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permission to reprint this article, please contact the
Capital Region BOCES Communications Service at (518)
464-3960.
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