Internet has become an essential part of our lives as it serves as an effective tool to make our work faster & simpler. We all know that children today need internet for various educational, informational and entertainment needs. Even the children are comfortable using computers & internet and are fascinated by the information and images that can be explored at the click of a mouse.
While the Internet offers children tremendous opportunities, this virtual world also has various aspects that can be harmful to them. Internet is a place where your child is exposed to various websites & webpages where she can interact with the strangers, can publish anything and may also come across some inappropriate web material. So, it is very important for you to keep your child completely safe online. For this, keep your child safe; ask her to remain alert and aware of the various risks & threats on the internet.
As a parent, you need to talk to your child about how she can stay safe online, set rules about what she can do and agree boundaries of how she should behave online. You can also use parental controls on social networks, online games and browsers or software that can filter or monitor when your child uses the internet. So, it is important to have fruitful conversations with your child to help her understand how to stay safe and what to do if she encounters any inappropriate content on web.
Below are some safety tips that you can use to protect your child when she is online:
- Become a net-savvy parent: Become familiar with the basics of computer and learn about the usage of the internet. Look for online tutorials or read articles or talk to other parents and become familiar with the internet. You may also ask your child to teach you how to use the internet, make profiles on social networking sites and play online games. This way you will get to know and understand what all she surfs on the internet.
- Talk to your child: Spend time with your child at home while she is surfing the internet. Ask questions about what she is doing and why she is doing it. Cultivate an interest in her online activities, her favourite websites, online games etc. Further, to help you understand what she is doing online, ask the following questions to your child:
- Which websites do you enjoy spending time on?
- What are the best things to do on these websites?
- Which websites would you recommend for a friend?
- What is your favourite game?
- Who do you play online games with?
Also, make sure she knows that the computer is accessible by all the members of the house and that what she does on the web is always seen by an adult member of the family.
- Place the computer in the common area: Keep the computer in the living room or in another common area that is used by the entire family. This will not only discourage her from misbehaving on the web and reduce the chances that she will talk to strangers or visit inappropriate websites; it will also help you to monitor her time spent online.
- Discuss the Do’s & Don’ts of the Internet: Set standards for what your child can and cannot do online. Discuss about the pros and cons of the internet. Make internet safety rules and discuss them with your child. You may create an Internet Safety Contract, get it signed by your child and place it near the computer.
- Limit usage: Restrict your child’s computer time, set a limit for using the internet and stick to it. Permit your child to have free online time for 30 minutes after school to play games or visit social networking sites. Tell her that she can use internet later, under your supervision after completing her homework.
- Use parental controlsto filter, restrict and monitor the content:Customize the settings of your computer; block objectionable material and inappropriate pop-up web pages. Also, bookmark your child’s favourite sites for easy access. Further, forbid your child from entering private chat rooms; block them with safety features provided by your Internet service provider or with special filtering software.
- Use a child-friendly search engine: Regular search engines may return results with inappropriate content that you do not want your child to see. So, ask your child to use search engines like Child Click!, KidTopia, surfnetkids, kidbox and KidRex.org that generate child-friendly results only.
- Know who your child is talking to online: Monitor who your child is talking to online. Ask herhow she chooses who to become friends with online. Explain to your child that it is easy for people to lie about themselves online, like their age, gender etc., because you have never met them. So, tell her not to easily trust anyone she interacts with online.
- Ask your child to keep her personal information private: Instruct your child to never send her pictures, reveal personal information including her age, address, telephone number, your work address or phone numbers, the name and location of her school etc. to anyone online without your permission. Further, teach her to use social networking sites safely. Check the privacy settings on the online accounts your child like Facebook, You Tube, Google+ etc. Make sure that there are appropriate security settings on the websites that use your child’s personal details.
- Encourage your child to come to you if she encounters a problem: Be available to your child and be ready to guide her whenever she faces any problem. Urge your child to alert you if she encounters something or someone on the Internet that makes her feel uncomfortable, whether through an image or a message. Also, remind her to walk away from the computer or even turn it off if she is uncomfortable with something online.
In the end, remember that the best thing to do is to trust your child and teach her how to be cautious. Further, tell her that you are always there for her and she can come to you if she faces any harassment.
