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Computer Safety for Kids
For detailed side-by-side comparisons of parental control software, see our parental control software comparison chart.
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Computer Safety for Kids
Protecting Your Kids
Start by taking care of the basics and protect your PC from viruses and spyware. Once that is done it is time to specifically worry about keeping your kids safe. When trying to protect your children, it is important to:
o Set expectations
o Monitor and control what your children do online
o Use some common sense
Setting Online Expectations
It is important for you as a parent to be clear with your children what you expect of them when they are using the PC. You need to be clear about what you consider to be appropriate online behavior, as well as what is and is not appropriate to be accessing online. Children should be taught:
o That they should never give out personal information such as their name, address, e-mail address, phone number, or age to anyone over the Internet without your express permission.
o That they should never fill out forms without your permission.
o That they should tell you if they come across anything or anyone online that they feel is not appropriate or that makes them uncomfortable.
o That they should ask before downloading or installing software on a PC.
o That they should never, under any circumstances, arrange to meet alone with someone who they have met online. This can be especially important for your teenage children who may feel that they have met the boy or girl of their dreams online. If they feel that they absolutely must meet this individual, then they should arrange to do it with a responsible adult present. You should remind them that it is very easy for someone to masquerade as someone else online.
Monitor and Control What Your Children Do Online
The PC that your children use should be setup in a public location where it is easy for you to monitor what your children are doing. It is very difficult for a child to engage in questionable online activities when everyone in the family can easily look over their shoulder. If you have children who participate in chat rooms or use instant messaging software you should regularly ask them who they are communicating with. If they are evasive or do not tell you, take away their computer privileges. Having a safe mad child is better than having an unsafe happy one.
There is also software that can help parents protect their children. Software to help keep children safe comes in two forms: monitoring software, and parental control software.
Monitoring software allows parents to monitor activity on the family PC. Many packages will allow you to monitor computer activity including web surfing activity, e-mail messages, chat, and instant messaging. Some software will even allow screen shots to be taken at predetermined increments of time. Many of these packages will operate in stealth mode, meaning that no one will know that the software is even installed and running. Of course telling your children that you have software that is monitoring their activity may also act a a deterrent. Monitoring software typically does not filter out any bad content. It simply lets you know if someone is accessing things that are inappropriate.
Parental control software, or Internet filtering software, allows parents to control content that is displayed and block specific web sites. Some filtering software will filter e-mails and chat rooms, block pop ups, and even monitor chat rooms. This software is, by its very nature, more intrusive than monitoring software. It will filter out a lot of bad stuff. It may also miss some bad stuff. It may also filter out some good things.
The choice of which software to use will come down to personal preference. Some parents use both. If you choose to use no software than having the family PC in a public place and asking questions about what your children are doing online becomes much more important.
Use Some Common Sense
You should be aware if your child becomes secretive about what they are doing online. Averting a computer monitor, or quickly turning it off whenever someone walks into the room is not normal computer behavior. It is, however, the behavior of an individual who is trying to hide something. If your child is exhibiting "odd" computer behavior question them. If you get no answers or you do not like the answers, take away their computer privileges and/or get software that monitors their activity. As has already been stated, a mad safe child is better than a happy unsafe one.
About the author:
Rob Pirozzi is a freelance writer who provides timely, quality professional writing of all types. He is also the publisher of the web site NuttyAboutSports.com, a web site dedicated to fans of popular North American Sports, including baseball, basketball, football, hockey, lacrosse, motor sports, softball, soccer, and tennis!
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For detailed side-by-side comparisons of parental control software, see our parental control software comparison chart.
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