Internet Safety - Keeping Your Kids Safe Online

As a parent, there is a responsibility to keep your child safe. While they use the internet, there are some potential dangers to be aware of. Part of good parenting is being sure that your child is safely using the internet and not being put into any danger. It's also important they do not run into any content that might be disturbing.First, you need to know where they are going. Most people use one browser and the history is shared. If you find a page that you may not approve of, you have no idea which kid or adult in the house was on that page. Some browsers like Firefox have profiles where each user gets their own settings and history. This would be an easy way of knowing who is going to what pages and being exposed to what content. If you have an idea of where the kids are going, you can know what steps are needed to take to ensure their internet  safety.

If you are concerned about the content that kids see, there are programs that help filter the internet. This would help stop most of the pornographic, adult only, and violent images that you wouldn't want your child being exposed to. There are even Firefox add-ons that can filter words. A parent can take a series of swear words, for example, and make them show up on the screen differently or not at all.

Be careful about who they chat with online. Generally it's best if they only chat with people they know in person. If they do use a chat client like Yahoo or MSN consider using a username that does not give away who they are and don't put in their personal information when signing up for the account. If they are using social networking sites, use the privacy option. This means that only approved friends can actually view the profile. This gives the child a way of still being part of the social network without many of the issues involved.

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