|
|
Keeping a Close Watch on Internet Dangers For Children
|
There is no doubt that the Internet will go down in history as the greatest learning tool of all time, but with the good, comes the bad. The Internet is still very much a wild frontier that, in some areas, is completely unpoliced and, in others, drastically underpoliced. Children are particularly susceptible to the myriad of dangers present online, so let’s take a look at just a few of the evils you need to watch for. Remember, many of these dangers can be completely negated with proper online supervision and the use of parental control software on your computer. They can significantly limit the number of Internet dangers for children that your child has access to.
Pornography – According to 2006 statistics, there are currently 4.2 million adult websites operating online. Since new websites are added every day, it is safe to assume that that number is far below today’s count. Porn on the Internet can even be found purely by accident. You can be visiting a humor website and be confronted by racy banner ads advertising a dating website. Unless you plan on only visiting children’s websites, you are going to see some degree of adult content online, which is why using parental control software is so important. Your child will only see the kinds of sites you want them to, with no accidents or other problems leading to a discussion your child isn’t ready to have yet. Part of promoting Internet safety for children is knowing when to have “that talk.”
Violence – Violence online is also a problem, but unlike porn, it can be summarily avoided if you don’t directly seek it out. The question that most parents are going to have to ask themselves is if their child is going to seek it out of sheer curiosity. We know that our children aren’t inherently violent, but it is the job of the parent to protect and control content that our kids may not be ready for until they are older. You can either forbid Internet usage unless a parent is present or you can install the latest parental control software to give you a hand. You can’t be there to protect from all the Internet dangers for kids, but you can make the process of policing the Internet a bit easier.
Hate Speech & Sites – Policing hate speech online is one of the most difficult things to do because it seems to crop up in the most innocent of places. Say you filter your children’s web pages to block the obvious purveyors of hate and intolerance, but what if they want to visit CNN and post a comment about a recent story? Or what if they want to read their favorite band’s message board to see when they are going on tour? Chances are, someone has likely posted something hateful or insensitive just to see if they can get a rise out of people. This behavior, known as trolling, is now commonplace on the Internet and is almost impossible to avoid. To best battle this problem, have a heart to heart talk with your child about the things they might see and if they come across something that makes them sad or shocks them, that they can talk to mom and dad about it. Along with supervised browsing and parental control software, the best tool any parent can employ is open and honest communication.
Drugs – With the movement to legalize marijuana in the United States growing stronger, it can be difficult to shield our children from displays of illegal drug use. Most parental control programs will block any and all drug websites, including ones that advocate usage. A problem may arise when a school assignment requires your child to write a paper about drugs and the laws that govern them. This is why all parental control software is fully customizable. As your child grows, you can change the types of sites that are blocked.
Internet Predators – When it comes to stopping online predators from contacting your children, a three pronged attack works best. Start by educating your child with the techniques that predators use to lure children into online meetings. Next, explain why you are blocking certain chat programs or access to social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, which are common ways for predators to initiate first contact. Finally, try to surf the web with your children as much as possible, especially if you have pre-teens, so they don’t ever feel required to answer to someone speaking to them online. These steps will significantly increase internet child safety.
Spam Email & Phishing Schemes – As soon as you bring a computer into your home, your child or teenager is going to want an email address. On the surface, email is a great way to keep in contact with important people in your life, but it also provides a way for scam artists to contact your family. Show your child what a phishing scheme is, how login names and passwords work and the difference between a spam email and one that they should respond to. It is only with proper education that you can cripple these Internet dangers for children.
|
|
|
|
> Parental Control Software 
