Ways to Protect Kids Online

In a day and age where children and young people are increasingly active online and where social networking plays an integral part in how free time is spent, many parents will wonder how to protect their children from the dangers of the internet. While the web can be a great place to learn, communicate and make new friends, there are also inherent dangers that easily be avoided by exercising the following pieces of advice.

Cyberspace can become a very closed off environment when children have access to the internet in a space such as their bedroom where they have the privacy to say and do as they please. To prevent this from happening, move your family computer into a communal area we're you can supervise your child's activities at a distance. Creating a taboo around social networking by banning it from your household could hold adverse affects by making children more intrigued or even give rebellious teens a motive for joining such sites when they perhaps showed little interest in the first place.

Deciding to give your child free range on the internet can be made safer by discussing the dangers of the web in a relaxed and informal way. Branding the internet as a playground rife with criminals and people with ulterior motives is unnecessary scaremongering but young people should be made aware of the realistic risks in order to alleviate naivety. Allow your child to discuss what they believe the risks are with using the internet before creating safety guidelines together. These might include not giving out personal information, not meeting people off the internet as well as telling parents about something that is upsetting. Creating guidelines together will grant your child a greater sense of control rather than having rules laid down by a bossy adult.

If your child and their friends are fans of social networking you may also wish to investigate and discuss what kind of privacy settings are available. Social networking can be a fun and friendly environment if users conduct themselves in the right way. This includes not accepting friend invitations from people you have never met in real life, not responding to emails from strangers and changing the settings on your profile so strangers can't see your personal information. Recent news stories have reported internet predators luring in their victims with bogus profiles featuring other teens who claim the person is harmless. With this in mind, young people should only add people they have met in real life and not take recommendations from other site users.

Allowing your children to use the internet can be an enriching and educating experience that not only allows them to socialise but also learn about the world about them and keeping safe. While some parents may feel the urge to block internet access altogether this could inadvertently cause further problems when children 'sneak' online or use the internet in unsupervised environments. The best course of action is to talk to your children, gently steer them in the right direction when making decisions about their online safety as well as encouraging them to come to you should they have a problem or concern.

Finally, parents too should exercise caution when using the internet. While many adults use the internet for things like shopping, booking holidays, reading the news and performing financial tasks such as online banking, setting up life insurance or applying for loans; they too can fall foul. In a nutshell, exercise caution and if you feel uncomfortable stop the transaction you're making and leave the site.