IT

Children and the Internet
By Steve Lape, ITS

Now that school is out for the summer, children have more time on their hands. I’ve had several inquiries about keeping children safe on the Internet, and below are some basic rules from Stay Safe Online that should help in protecting children on the World Wide Web.

Implement both safety rules and software tools to protect your children online; one without the other is ineffective.

Teach your children to never give personal information over the Internet, such as name, address, telephone number, password, parents' names, the name of any club or team they are involved in, name of their school or after school job.
Disallow chat rooms and recognize that they are the playground of today's sexual predator.
Limit your child's Instant Messaging to a parental-approved buddy list. Regularly check your child's buddy list to ensure that it has not been altered.
Place your computer in an area of your home where you can easily supervise your child's Internet activity. If you allow your child to have a webcam, place it in a public area of your house.
Know your children’s online activities and friends. (Regularly ask them about their online friends and activities. Role play with your child on various dangerous scenarios that they could encounter online).
Use parental controls/filtering or monitoring technology that blocks access to dangerous sites and activities.
Establish online rules and an agreement with your child about Internet use at home and outside of the home (i.e., at a friend's house, at school, at the library, etc).
Spend time online alongside your child and establish an atmosphere of trust regarding computer usage and online activities.
Monitor the amount of time your child spends on the Internet and at what times of day. Excessive time online, especially at night, may indicate a problem. Remind your child that Internet use is a privilege, not a right.
Do not permit your child to have an online profile containing personally identifiable information or pictures of themselves (MySpace.com, AOL profiles, etc.).
Check with your child's school to see if student projects, artwork, or photos are being put on school websites. Schools need to be reminded of the risk and encouraged to allow access to student activities posted on the school's website by password only.
Instruct your children never to plan a face-to-face meeting with someone that they have met online.
Report any content or activity that you suspect as illegal or criminal to local law enforcement agencies and to Cybertipline at 1-800-843-5678.

There are several Internet sites that deal with protecting children online and they include, but are not limited to:

http://www.fbi.gov/publications/pguide/pguidee.htm

http://www.safekids.com/

http://www.ou.edu/oupd/kidsafe/start.htm

http://www.safeteens.com/

http://www.staysafeonline.info/

Even though children may have better technical skills than their parents, don't be intimidated by their knowledge. Children still need advice, guidance, and protection. Keep the lines of communication open, and let your child know that you can be approached with any questions they may have about behaviors or problems encountered on the computer.

June 2006
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