Keeping Your Kids Safe While They Are Online

The INTERNET can be a dangerous place for your kids, if you don't know the risks that can occur while being online. It is our jobs as parents, to know what our kids are doing when they are online. It is up to us to keep them safe in everything that they do.

Thousands of children use the INTERNET everyday without any problems at all, but we've all heard about the danger they could find themselves in. I am a mother ,and I always worry when my kids are online, that is why I pay close attention to what they do when online. Here are some tips so you can be sure that your kids are safe when they are online.

1. The most Important thing you can do to keep your children safe when they are on the INTERNET is to be right there with them while they are online. You should not let them surf the INTERNET in their bedrooms or in another room away from you. If this is not a possibilty, then make sure you are often in and out of the room to keep an eye on what is going on. Be sure you know what your kids are doing online at all times.

2. Before allowing your children on the INTERNET ,let them know what is and what is not allowed and stick with these rules. For example, you could tell them no e-mailing, no chat rooms, or whatever guidelines you decide to set for them. Also, let them know that should they decide to break any of your rules, then they will not be allowed online anymore, until they agree to follow the rules you set for them.

3. Get involved in what your kids are doing online. Ask them to show you some of their favorite sites. Have them show you what they like to do when they are online. This will help you determine if there are any problems or concerns that need to be addressed with them. Another way to keep a check on which websites they have visited, click on HISTORY in your browser window.

4. Down load some filtering software. You can find software available that can stop your child giving out personal information such as their name, address, and telephone number. Here are a couple of filtering software you can check out:

We - Blocker...........Furnishes users with free software that allows parents to monitor their children's Internet access and filter out inappropriate sites.

Internet Filtering Software..............This Internet filtering software is free. There is no obligation, and it will work with any ISP

Stress to your kids why it is important to keep such information private.

5. All kids, it does not matter how old they are, can be vulnerable when they are online. For example, teenage girls, are at risk from men who lure them into meeting them face to face after chatting online with them for awhile. Let your children know never, ever to arrange a meeting with someone they met online, no matter how safe it may seem to them.

6. Tell them firmly, never to pay money or agree to pay money for anything without your permission, and never to use your credit card details without your knowledge or permission. You just never know who could somehow get a hold of your credit card details.

7. Also, be sure to warn your kids about online chat rooms for kids. Sometimes, Adults will pretend to be kids in these chat rooms trying to lure kids into meeting them. Rather than chat rooms, I have set up AOL's INSTANT MESSENGER Program for my kids. This gives them more control over who they allow to be one of their "buddies' and they're not nearly as visible, as they would be in actual chat rooms. AOL INSTANT MESSENGER

The INTERNET can provide hours of fun for children of all ages. We, as parents should certainly monitor what our kids are doing on the NET, put safety features in place, depending on how they will be accessing the NET. AOL allows you to set restrictions on certain sites [MSN as well], so your children can surf and be safe at the same time.

To find out about AOL, CLICK HERE

To find out about MSN, click here

For more information and a listing of guide lines for keeping your kids safe ONLINE, please visit these two sites.

Safe kids. com

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Child Safety on the Information Highway

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Here are some recommended sites for you to check out for your kids:

Computer Games for Kids

/kidz/dept.aspx?id=/kidz/content/games/

Play new games every week with characters from DISNEY

Nickelodeon - Official Site

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Commercial, all-kids cable station "NICKELODEON" offers a schedule and outtakes for its popular lineup of cartoons, including" Rugrats" and "Garfield"

PBS Kids

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Official home of "SESAME STREET" ,TELE TUBBIES, and PBS's other kids shows. Play games, read jokes, and paint some of their characters

Fun Brain

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Interactive, Educational games (math and grammar) for children of all ages. Games include Math, Baseball, Change Maker, and Wacky tales.

Kids Games. org

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Check out this collection of online games for kids of all ages.

KidsCom

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Offers Adult monitored kids chat, games like tangram, and hangman, message boards, video game cheats, contests, and prizes in a kid safe environment.