Having to police your children when they are on the Internet is not the best way to teach them how to be safe. Finding the right balance is the answer. Hopefully your children have enough common sense to avoid trouble, and then you will have no trouble trusting them. Guidance is what parents are supposed to be providing their children from the moment they are born. The following are some helpful hints on how to protect your kids online while still giving them some degree of freedom.
Since your children have many ways and places to access the internet you should remember that. Thinking about what your children are doing online, will take more than just monitoring their usage at home. If there are computers in the homes of any of your kids' friends, take the time to discuss these issues with the parents of these friends to make sure that any time spend online in these homes is supervised. Computers are available at school, such as in the library, and it is important for parents to understand the supervisory policies regarding protecting their children from internet use.
Protecting your children is a worthwhile ambition, just don't go too overboard. Too much supervision and being overprotective will cause your children to look for other ways to do what they want. Sometimes the easiest way to get children to do something is to tell them how bad it is for them, so just not allowing internet use probably won't work. It is not possible to watch your children every minute of the day, so don't expect it online either. You can't know everything that your child is doing offline, so you won't be able to know everything that they do online either. Understanding the internet and how it works is probably the best way to keep from being a victim, so that is what you need to teach your children.
Connect with your child online so you can keep track of what they are up to. You should learn more about the internet if you do not know as much as your child, as this is often the case. Join any online services or social networks that your child is part of, and get on their friends list. You do not have to do this is a heavy-handed way, just use the internet as another way to stay in touch.
The more familiar you are with your children's online activities, the better you'll be able to protect them. Make it clear to your child that if they try to stop you from doing this then you want to know what they are doing and who they are talking to online. There's no reason to live in fear, but at the same time it's sensible to take these basic precautions.
Since your children have many ways and places to access the internet you should remember that. Thinking about what your children are doing online, will take more than just monitoring their usage at home. If there are computers in the homes of any of your kids' friends, take the time to discuss these issues with the parents of these friends to make sure that any time spend online in these homes is supervised. Computers are available at school, such as in the library, and it is important for parents to understand the supervisory policies regarding protecting their children from internet use.
Protecting your children is a worthwhile ambition, just don't go too overboard. Too much supervision and being overprotective will cause your children to look for other ways to do what they want. Sometimes the easiest way to get children to do something is to tell them how bad it is for them, so just not allowing internet use probably won't work. It is not possible to watch your children every minute of the day, so don't expect it online either. You can't know everything that your child is doing offline, so you won't be able to know everything that they do online either. Understanding the internet and how it works is probably the best way to keep from being a victim, so that is what you need to teach your children.
Connect with your child online so you can keep track of what they are up to. You should learn more about the internet if you do not know as much as your child, as this is often the case. Join any online services or social networks that your child is part of, and get on their friends list. You do not have to do this is a heavy-handed way, just use the internet as another way to stay in touch.
The more familiar you are with your children's online activities, the better you'll be able to protect them. Make it clear to your child that if they try to stop you from doing this then you want to know what they are doing and who they are talking to online. There's no reason to live in fear, but at the same time it's sensible to take these basic precautions.
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