Keeping your Kids Safe Online

Once your children access the internet, they are no longer in your home. They are out in the digital world exploring, learning and interacting with others. The internet can be a great place of learning for children - it can spark imaginations and open young minds.

However, there are certain places in the digital world children shouldn't go. Children can easily stumble across sexual, violent, or otherwise offensive websites. They may receive unwanted attention from adults in chat rooms or over email. They can be unwitting targets of deceptive online advertising and marketing campaigns, some of which attempt to elicit private, family information.

So, what can you as a parent do? How can you strike a balance between protecting your children on the internet and empowering them to explore the digital world?

• Educate yourself and your kids
  Get to know the internet and investigate what it has to offer. Make some decisions about the kinds of sites and services you want your children to access and the kinds of areas you want them to avoid. Explain to your children the kinds of sites you believe are unsafe and why.
• Teach your kids to be savvy surfers
  Tell them to verify the identity of persons who contact them in chat rooms or by email. Talk with them about advertising and teach them how to recognise the difference between site content and promotional material.
• Set ground rules
  Make a list of restricted site categories and addresses. Set time limits on internet and computer usage, including when and how long your kids can be online. Come up with a family policy for email accounts, as well as a policy for spending money over the internet.
• Chatting to strangers
  If you don't let your children give your home address to strangers on the street, don't let them give it to strangers in chat rooms or reply to unknown emails.
• Describe the kinds of personal information it's acceptable to provide online
  List in detail the kinds of information your children are not allowed to divulge. Show them you take internet safety seriously.
• Security software with parental controls
  Net Nanny is a reputable brand of parental control software that includes family-safe filtered search, an Internet monitor, website filtering, time limits, chat recording, newsgroup blocking, and privacy controls. The internet filter protects kids by giving parents control over what comes into and goes out of their homes. Net Nanny is easy to install and configure and works with virtually any Windows computer. It is available for purchase from most large computer retailers.
• Teach your kids about chat rooms
  A number of schools and educational websites are using chat constructively. Through well-structured and moderated sessions, children can benefit from using chat as it provides an excellent medium to discuss issues with other children (especially from other countries) about a common interest. However, some chat sites have very little educational value and even worse, are a dangerous place for kids to venture into. Make sure you thoroughly check the chat sites your kids are visiting and ensure they have a moderator or referee present who is a recognised approved adult. Also check that the chat site has appropriate access controls and password verification, as well as a clearly defined set of terms and conditions which are upheld and enforced. There are a number of chat sites appearing which are designed especially for kids and should be used where appropriate