1. Step into their cyberworld
"Parents have to get involved. Just as they know every detail of the playground around the corner -- they need to know their kids' online playground as well," says Tim Lordan, staff director of the Internet Education Foundation, a nonprofit group that produces the online safety guide GetNetWise. It may be hard to keep your eyes open after visiting what seems like the 100th website devoted to Barbie, but playing copilot to your child is the best way to make sure they get a smooth ride. By the time their 7, you won't need to be glued to their side, but you should be somewhere in the room or checking in frequently.
2. Set house rules
Decide how much time you're comfortable with your children being online and which sites they may go to. You might post a short list or even a signed contract (like the free ones at www.SafeKids.com) next to the computer. So there's no confusion, talk about the rules -- and the consequences for breaking them. House rules could say the kids are allowed half an hour of computer time on 'their days.' One child could have Mondays and Wednesdays, and the other could have Tuesdays and Thursdays. Then they could get one hour each on the weekend. They could have certain sites they can visit without special permission. Any others have to be approved by the adult in the house.
3. Teach them to protect their privacy
Children should make sure they know (even if they don't fully understand the consequences of telling their personal information online):
* never to give their name, phone number, e-mail address, password, postal address, school, or picture without your permission
* not to open e-mail from people they don't know
* not to respond to hurtful or disturbing messages
* not to get together with anyone they "meet" online
4. Know that location is key
Keep the computer in a central spot, where it's easy to monitor its use. Even if you have five computers in your house, only the PC in the family room -- is hooked up to the Internet.
5. Be their go-to girl
Instruct your child to come straight to you when they see anything that makes them uncomfortable, and assure them that you won't overreact, blame them, or immediately rescind their online privileges.
6. Turn your ISP into your ally
Before buying a safety product, experts recommend that you work with what you've got, starting with your Internet service provider (ISP). America Online, MSN, SBC Yahoo!, EarthLink, and others have reliable, free parental controls that can limit children's access to websites and communication features (e-mail, instant messaging, chat) by age, content categories, time, and other choices.
7. Make your browser work double-time
If your ISP lacks that capability, you still have some safe-surfing options at hand on your browser (the program that enables you to view web pages). Internet Explorer has Content Advisor (under Tools/Internet Options/Content), which filters out language, nudity, sex, and violence on a 0 to 4 scale. Netscape and Safari (for Mac users) have parental controls like filtering as well. Using your browser won't get you the comprehensive results that a safety product or your ISP would yield, but it can be suitable for the times you're sitting next to your little one surfing the net.
8. Tune up your search engine
Your search engine can be pressed into service for free. (But be aware: A savvy child could switch the settings back.) Once you set restrictions, Google will block sites with explicit sexual material (Preferences/SafeSearch Filtering). AltaVista puts several types of offensive content off-limits with its Family Filter (Settings/Family Filter setup).
9. Stay in a kid-friendly zone
For beginners as young as 4, consider confining online exploration to web addresses that list child-safe sites on everything from TV, movies, music, and games to world history, science, and trivia. Some good choices:
* web directory Yahooligans
* answer supplier Ask Jeeves for Kids
* the American Library Association's Great Web Sites for Kids* the U.S. government's "Dot Kids" domain
DID YOU KNOW...
- 63% of teens say they know how to hide what they do online from their parents (Harris Interactive-McAfee 10/2008)
- One in five kids have engaged in cyberbullying behavior -- posting embarrassing photos, spreading rumors, and more. (Harris Interactive-McAfee, 10/2008)
- 69% of teens regularly receive personal messages online from people they don't know and most don't tell a trusted adult about it. (Cox Communications in partnership with NCMEC and John Walsh, 2007).
- More than one in 10 students have accepted an invitation to meet an online stranger in person (Rochester Institute of Technology, 2008).
Email Safety For Your Child:
Make sure your child is using email responsibly. There are so many kid friendly email sites that let you monitor all incoming and outgoing email at all times. You can find out when and from where your child logs in and out of his or her email.
Approve incoming mail before your child sees it. There are several email sites that place all incoming mail into a folder that is not visible to your child until you approve it. You can preview email and delete or deny spam, inappropriate messages, or questionable attachments.
Restrict times and places your child can log in. There are several email sites that lets you restrict times of the day and week your child can login. You can keep the email account locked if your child is at school or unsupervised, or block specific senders by placing them on a blacklist.
Easily get email from trusted friends and family. There are several email sites that keep approved email addresses from friends and family in the contact manager so they can be quickly retrieved. You can limit your child’s email to only this customizable email list if you prefer.
The main thing to remember with your children and their email----you must make them accountable for their actions, you can control the amount of time and who they are emailing, you must be the account manager at all times, and remember children are very savvy about technology. Keeping everything in the open and checking their accounts is very important.