Five Internet Safety Tips Every Parent Should Know
March 3, 2010
(New York,N.Y.)-Whether they’re on a laptop or using their cell phone, kids are accessing the internet. It’s never too early to provide kids with internet safety information.
That’s why Senator Kemp Hannon is reminding parents of five important internet safety tips:
1. Place the family computer in a common area: Have your younger children use a desktop or a laptop that is located in a family room so you can better monitor what websites they are visiting.
2. Play an active role: More than 50 percent of children say their parents have no clue about what sites they are visiting and who they are talking to online. Spend time with your kids online and ask questions about what sites they are surfing and who they are connecting with.
3. Set limits: Have a conversion with your children about what they want to use the internet for and why. Set limits on the amount and type of accounts kids open and for how many hours a day they are permitted to surf the net for social and recreational purposes.
4. Educate: Be straightforward with your children about the many threats and dangers they face online so they understand why you are setting limits. Make sure they know how to protect themselves if confronted by a cyber-bully or another online predator. This includes the dangers of posting photos and information about themselves.
5. Use parental control and content filtering software: Motoring and filtering software are key tools for assisting parents in protecting their children from online predators and inappropriate website content. Monitors enable parents to review their children’s internet use, while filters block access to questionable content.
For additional information on how to protect your children online, visit the “Kid’s Privacy” topic on www.onguardonline.gov . For important information about New York State and to sign-up for invaluable forums and seminars right in your community, visit www.kemphannon.com .
Posted by News LI Editor · Filed Under Entertainment
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3 Responses to “Five Internet Safety Tips Every Parent Should Know”
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The bottom line is that if parents REALLY want to keep their kids safe online, they need to know what said kids are doing on the computer, and what is happening in their online lives. Blocks and filters are easy to get around, and talking alone will get you nowhere… (if you think your kids are going to tell you, honestly, everything they are doing online – you are a fool). Education is a great thing, and very necessary, but how can you consider yourself educated if you don’t know the simplest information – like what your kids are really doing. If you have monitoring software, like our PC Pandora (http://www.pcpandora.com), you will know everything they do and will be able to talk to them about it. If you aren’t monitoring and don’t know what they are really doing, how can you be sure they are safe? It’s not an issue of privacy (I have no idea where and when kids were granted endless privacy because they exist – in my day privacy was earned through trust and an established good behavior record), nor is it an issue of trust – it’s called being a 21st century parent. If you don’t know what your kids are doing online, you aren’t doing your job as a parent. If you aren’t monitoring what your kids do online and watch them, someone else will…
- Posted by: KenS
I have read the comment from Ken and to be honest every kid in the world is different and so therefore I guess so is every parents opinion. This is mine. I do not want to spy on my kids I want to protect them. it is as simple and straight forward as that - I am not a fool to trust my kids as they “have” earnt it. We have a family computer so it is in a communal space and I use a filter product called Brightfilter which protects us all. We talk openly about why we have it on the computer and that it is not to punish them but to protect them from very real dangers. They understand this fully.
- Posted by: Dave
Special thanks to Senator Kemp for taking the time to share these tips.
Here’s a website of free internet safety resources for parents I use: http://www.kiwicommons.com
Don’t get scared parents, get educated!
- Posted by: Emily