How to Keep Kids Safe on the Internet
What Are the Dangers for Children on the Internet?
There are a myriad of risks facing children who use the Internet.
Many adults are tricked into revealing personal information to
Internet predators. Unfortunately many of these predators prefer
children, and kids are often easier to lure than adults. Protect Kids.org
lists links to a few articles detailing some of the crimes that have
been committed.
Some Statistics
- More than 10 million children are online.
Youth Internet
Safety Survey
- Only 1/3 of households are pro-actively protecting their
children with filtering or blocking software.
Center for Missing and
Exploited Children
- 75% of children are willing to share personal information online
about themselves and their family.
eMarketer
- One in five U.S. teenagers who regularly log on to the Internet
say they have received an unwanted sexual solicitation via the Web.
Crimes Against Children Research Center
- One in 33 youth received an aggressive sexual solicitation in
the past year.
Youth Internet Safety Survey
- 75 percent of the solicited youth were not troubled, 10 percent
did not use chat rooms and 9 percent did not talk to strangers.
Crimes Against Children Research Center
Thanks to
Protect Kids.org
for compiling these statistics.
What to Do
- Install Internet Filtering and Content Control Software. Visit Google's
Directory Engine for a list of software. Cybersitter, Netnanny
and others will restrict your children's ability to access
questionable web sites and other resources.
- Monitor your kid's Internet usage. Review the "Acceptable Use
Policies" of the sites that they visit. Make sure the sites aren't
using your child's browsing habits or personal information.
- Help kids to understand that they should never give personal
information to anyone on the Internet.
- Use Computer Monitoring Software. This software will run silently
in the background on your PC logging everything you child does. Visit Google
to find a list of available software.
Keeping your children safe on the Internet requires constant vigilance
on the part of parents. Make sure your software is up-to-date, that
you check the software logs, and that you continually remind your
children of safe usage habits. The old "don't talk to strangers"
adage applies doubly in the Internet world.
See Also
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