Internet Protection for Children

What Parents Can Do

One of the most effective ways of protecting children from inappropriate material on the Internet is to teach them to use the Internet responsibly. Parents play a major role in this by taking responsibility for children's online computer use. By doing so, parents can greatly minimize any potential risks of being online.

There are certain safety tips parents can follow to ensure that their children use the Internet safely. These tips include:

• Never give out personal information, such as home address, school name, or telephone number, in a public message such as a chat room or bulletin board;
• Do not post photographs of children on websites or news groups that are available to the public;
• Never allow a child to arrange a face-to-face meeting with another computer user without parental permission;
• If a meeting is arranged, make the first one in a public place and be sure to accompany the child;
• Never respond to messages that are suggestive, obscene, belligerent, threatening or make you feel uncomfortable;
• Encourage children to tell you if they encounter such messages;
• Report any inappropriate messages you receive immediately;
• Consider keeping the computer in a room other than the child's bedroom to monitor his or her online use;
• Get to know your children's online friends just as you get to know all of their other friends;
• Set up specific rules for your children's online use, such as the time of day and length of time that they can be online and appropriate sites for them to visit.

There are many useful publications and websites for parents on this topic. For example, The Parent's Guide to the Internet (published by the U.S. Department of Education), Site Seeing on the Internet; A Guide to Travelling in Cyberspace (published by the FTC and the National Association of Attorneys General), and The Parent's Guide to the Internet; Raising Your Family on the Information Superhighway (by Travis West) explain the basics of the Internet, how it works, what is available online, and give guidance on how to ensure safe use of the Internet. For additional publications on responsible use of the Internet, visit www.childrenspartnership.org for a list of resources.

Blocking Software

Filtering Software

Websites That Help Parents

Keeping Kids Safe Online