Be a Web Safe Kid

It has become a frightening set of words MySpace. Parents are automatically timid to allow for their children and or teens to set up blog sites on my space due to the recent news stories of cyber bullying and teen suicide. Internet dangers are there in full force with cyber bullying, online predators, and fraud and identity theft.

When it comes to using the Internet in an educational facility or environment, there are often guidelines that were previously created and set in place for you to follow. In the case of a home schoolteacher it can be left up to you personally to create rules and guidelines for your students to follow for Internet safety.

Ever cognizant of the potential for lawsuits brought by legal watchdog groups who are self appointed in their commitment to ensuring free access to pornography and other objectionable material via public library computers, the public school system is equally concerned with First Amendment issues and Internet filters are forever a hot topic.

When a teacher’s guide to Internet safety does not go far enough, it is most likely going to present a serious clash between the teacher, the school administration and also the parents.

With the almost daily onslaught of news reports and investigative journalism cover stories that feature online predators seeking out minors with sexual and other criminal intent, parents are without a doubt searching for Internet safety tips for kids and teens that are not only useful but also enforceable.

Sadly, it is the very minor who is to be safeguarded by these precautions that will turn around and seek to circumvent them in an effort to continue communicating with an online friend who just might be a predator.

OpenEducation.net did a thorough review of the UK report from Dr. Tanya Byron “Safer Children in a Digital World.”

They summarized her research and her recommendations, dividing them into two posts, one that focuses on E-Safety, and a second regarding children and video games.

Both are well worth your time to read…

While it may be tempting to restrict your childs or teen’s Internet access to such an extent as to be virtually non-existent, it is important to realize that sooner or later the minor will have access to the Net. Just like it would be humorous to suggest that your child not be allowed to date until you are dead – although that is a favorite saying of many a parent – the failure of parents to prepare their children for the wide world away from parental control and supervision in many ways leads to risky behavior that may have far reaching consequences.