Protecting our children and teenagers online with basic Internet safety rules is vitally important for all concerned parents. Especially in this ever expanding digital world. Internet stalkers and predators are taking advantage of families that are not aware of these basic Internet safety rules, increasing the potential of children being placed into a dangerous situation.
This could lead to your child potentially becoming a victim to these online predators. Something none of us want to happen. Steps can be taken to help prevent this from happening though. The Internet can be a great way for families and friends to communicate and stay in touch with each other, share photos and videos of family events and meet new friends. As with any technology it is easily exploited by those that intend to use it to take advantage of our youth.
Young people may be less concerned with the importance of following Internet safety rules while networking online. Sharing personal information that can be used to identify who they are, what they look like and where they live.
Internet Safety Rules – Keep Personal Information Off the Internet
With an abundance of popular social networking websites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Linkedin and many others, it is becoming easier for strangers to target our children and collect their personal information. Photos and videos posted publicly online by unsuspecting kids can leave a trail easily traceable by Internet stalkers. These strangers can pretend to be kids or teenagers online. They can post a fake photo and information about themselves in their public profile on social websites and they will work to gain the confidence and trust of our children to become one of their “online friends”. Always with undesirable motives in mind.
Information on these social websites can be made public or private. Either way the website will likely display the child’s user name and amount of friends in their profile. If it is set for public view then anyone can access all the child’s information. If it is set to private then you have to be included as a friend of the child to gain access to the information.
When your child goes online these are some good basic Internet safety rules to teach them:
- Choose a user name that does not refer to your gender (male – female).
- Do not share any personal information with a real friend without informing parents first.*
- Avoid any negative discussions aimed to influence you about family, teachers or religion.
- Inform your parents if you come across anything that makes you feel uncomfortable.
- Always be aware that anyone you talk to online may not be who they say they are.
- Avoid chat rooms that discuss sex, cults or violence. This could lead to danger.
- Never agree to meet anywhere with someone you do not know online.
Internet Safety Rules – Internet Stalkers and Predators
Online predators are always searching for ways to contact unsuspecting youth and gain access to their personal information. This can be easily achieved by a persistent stranger posing as a child or teen asking to be a friend in your child’s private network or by an unsuspecting child letting the stranger in as a friend to bulk up their popularity by having a large number of friends in the public area of their social network profile.
Once personal information has been posted online including real names, address information, where they go to school, favorite places to hang out, personal photo’s and or video’s the risk for potential harm increases dramatically. These types of details are what predators search for and should never be put on the Internet. Online predators know the ropes of their trade well and look for opportunities to strike their unsuspecting targets.
The information being offered online by kids can be easily copied, saved and shared by anyone! Personal information can be saved as text in a notepad or wordpad program on any computer. Images and videos can be downloaded, saved and shared also by anyone planning personal harm toward your child.
As a parent you can learn what steps you can follow to better protect your child online and teach them the importance of following essential Internet safety rules. Good communication between parents and children will greatly increase Internet safety for kids online. Whether they are using a PC, laptop or web enabled cell phone.
Internet Safety Rules – Action Steps for Internet Safety
Set up your child’s online email account and password from your main account. Email confirmation is required to join social websites and you can easily monitor your child’s online activity.
Most email accounts allow for multiple screen names and you can set an age appropriate filter to control Internet surfing habits. This will help block undesirable content and pornography when your child is on this account.
Never give out real names, real home address or any personal information that could lead someone to your home. This is one of the biggest Internet safety rules that is not being followed and is worth repeating. Children should be taught why this information should be guarded and kept off the Internet and left out of emails where it could be forwarded to anyone.
Online predators can be clever and you do not want to give them anything to work with. Just as children are taught not to talk to strangers in the real world the same applies online. If you do not know the person trying to communicate with you online it is best to be safe and avoid a conversation.
By talking with other children’s parents you can safely identify a child’s real friends and their screen names to set up a safe network for communicating. Safe social networks do exist online and are monitored to provide Internet safety for kids. There are highly recommended social websites for kids and tweens up to the age of 14. Introducing your child to these type of sites can help shape the direction they go online. The websites are monitored and prevent sharing of personal details, some were started and are run by parents with the same child safety concerns.
Also teach your child to never upload personal photos or videos to a website or send them through an email account. Once these are sent you really have no control of where they may end up or who they may be forwarded to. It is important to teach children about the potential dangers of the Internet and to raise their awareness of possible risks.
If they run into any situation that makes them feel uncomfortable online make sure they know to stop what they are doing and let you know immediately. They should trust their inner feelings when they feel something just isn’t right and by responding to their concerns you can help promote further trust and healthy bonding with your child. Although your child’s online learning experience is theirs to experience, you really should view it as a team effort between parent and child.
Advantages of using Safety Software and Online Safety Services
You may want to consider purchasing a quality Internet safety software program or Internet safety service to monitor and filter out undesirable content on your computer. This can provide essential protection for those times you cannot be around or if a child is online while you are at work.
Internetsafetyrules.org and our affiliates have teamed up to provide you with the best Internet safety programs available on the Internet today if this is a choice you decide to make. You can customize the services for PC’s, Mac’s, notebooks, iPhone and iPod touch, receive instant alerts and much more depending on the service you choose. Beside providing a safe solution for your own home these programs are also work well for businesses, schools and churches and are in use by many of these organizations.
We feel these are some good habits to establish and follow before your child begins communicating online. Parents that learn Internet safety for kids and teach its value will help establish better online surfing for younger ones in the household. Older teens can sometimes offer a little more resistance to parental monitoring and their personal privacy, our Internet Safety Tips for Teens can assist you in protecting your older children with issues like sexting and cyberbullying. The more we become involved with our children online the less likely we will have to deal with threatening or dangerous issues involving our kids. Following sound Internet safety rules can be a rewarding experience for both parents and children alike.
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