online safety tips for kids

The internet can be a wonderful, exciting place, but for many parents it can lead to great anxiety as you worry about your childs safety.

If your child has unsupervised access to the internet then it may be benefical for you to agree on a set of groudruls with your child. Below are some online safety tips for kids to might like to discuss with your child to encourage internet safety.

1) Insist that your child must not give any personal information to anyone they meet/talk to online - such as there address, phone number, where they go to school, there age and date of birth, passwords.

2) Tell your child they should never meet anyone they do not know, ask that they don't tell anyone where they are going to be, what they are going to do or where they are likely to be hanging out. Explain to your child how easy it is for someone to preten they are someone they are not.

3) Be aware of everything your child downloads. Encourage your child to ask before downloading anything, many sites contain harmful spyware or contain inappropriate content. Remember you can always check the computers history.

4) Remind your child that the difference between right and wrong applies just as much on the internet as it does in real life, and respecting others online is just as important as respecting others offline.

5) Make use of internet software with parental controls available to filter out harmful content and monitor the sites your child is using to ensure they are safe sites.

6) If you child uses sites that require a username, help them to choose an appropriate username that does not reveal any personal information about themselves.

With a good set of rules and by encouraging your child to share there experiences on the internet with you, you can ensure your childs online safety.