Internet safety: A for your family
Today, it's not unusual for kids to know more about the Internet than their parents. If that's the case in your home, do not despair. You can use this as a learning opportunity to have your child teach you a thing or two about the Internet. Learn more about your child by asking where he or she likes to go on the Internet and what he or she thinks you might enjoy. Get your child to talk with you about what's good and not so good about his or her Internet experiences. Also, no matter how Internet savvy your kid is, you still need to provide guidance.
As part of our commitment to protecting children and fostering a safe environment, the physicians of Bayshore Pediatrics strongly encourage discussing Internet safety with your child. Discussing Internet safety with your child is essential to your family's safety.
To help you with this discussion, we have developed a list of tools for children, teens and parents to learn more about using the Internet in a safe and protected way.
Keeping children safe on the Internet is everyone's job
- Parents need to stay in close contact with their kids as they explore the Internet.
- Teachers need to help students use the Internet appropriately and safely.
- Community groups, including libraries, after-school programs and others, should help educate the public about safe surfing.
- Kids and teens need to learn to take responsibility for their own behavior with guidance from their families and communities.
A little perspective: Learning from the Internet
Just as adults need to help kids stay safe, they also need to learn not to overreact when they find out a child or teenager has been exposed to inappropriate material or strayed from a rule. Whatever you do, don't blame or punish your child if he or she tells you about an uncomfortable online encounter. Your best strategy is to work with your child so you both can learn from what happened and figure out how to keep it from happening again.
The challenges posed by the Internet can be positive. Learning to make good choices on the Internet can serve young people well by helping them to think critically about the choices they face. Today, it's the Internet; tomorrow it may be deciding whether it's safe to get into the car of someone a teen meets at a party. Later it will be deciding whether a commercial offer really is "too good to be true" or whether it really makes sense to vote for a certain candidate or follow a spiritual guru. Learning how to make good choices is a skill that will last a lifetime.
Guide to online privacy
While kids often are more computer savvy than their parents (they can easily sign up for a game or subscribe to a chat room service), they don't understand the consequences of revealing personal information to strangers. As a rule, children should not reveal personal information about themselves online without a parent's permission. This includes their name, e-mail address, postal address, phone number, photo, school address, etc.
Teach your child about some of the risks involved if they reveal their name, address, telephone number and/or e-mail address online and print out some of these general rules for your child to follow as he or she surfs online. You can help children protect their privacy and themselves if you teach them to be private.
Learn more about how to teach your kids to keep their personal information to themselves online by visiting GetNetWise.com.
Other resources
The Internet and your family: Guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics
Just for kids
Just for teens
Just for parents
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