Safe Surfing for Kids & Teenagers
How to Teach Children to Use the Internet Safely & Sensibly
Sep 25, 2009
For many parents, the safety of their kids when they are surfing online is a real concern. They are taught how to use the Internet early at school and they may also learn from watching their parents at home. The lessons they are taught here may give them the functional abilities they need to surf but may not completely cover the need to surf safely. Parents may, therefore, want to spend time on this part of the process at home.
Potential Problems When Kids Don't Surf Safely
There are a few different things that can happen here. Many can simply be put down to mistakes or inexperience. For example, a child that isn't using the Internet wisely might:
- Inadvertently download viruses and malware by clicking on ads and links.
- Spend too much time online.
- Fall prey to grooming/inappropriate activities in chat rooms and on social networking sites.
- Become distressed by cyberbullying.
- Surf on age-inappropriate sites.
A child that has been taught how to surf safely is less likely to have these problems. Let's look at how kids of all ages can be taught how to do this.
Safe Surfing for Young Kids
Although young children may not yet have the skills to get too much out their depth when they surf, they still need to learn the basics at an early age. So, for example, parents could:
- Talk to their children about issues like clicking on ads or popups. Exciting as these may seem to kids, they can lead to system problems. Explaining to a child that they might not be able to use the computer at all if it gets a virus will often do the trick.
- Set limits on how long/how often kids are allowed free play online. Getting into good habits at an early age can be useful later in life. There's no reason why they won't accept that playing on the computer is a treat that lasts for a limited amount of time.
- Talk to them about online searches. As kids get older they'll be taught/learn how to search for information on the Internet. Parents may want to make this a joint activity, at least for a while, so they can talk their kids through the process and any problems that might come up.
Although parents can often find the time to monitor younger kids as they play online, this gets more difficult as they get older. Teenagers may well get their own laptop or a computer in their bedroom. At this stage parents may have to take a different tack to make sure that they keep surfing safely.
Safe Surfing for Older Kids/Teenagers and Parental Monitoring Software
Older children and teenagers tend to be extremely web savvy. Their natural tendency generally is not to listen to advice and to assume that they know best. But, they are more prone to serious surfing issues and parents may want to continue to help them learn what to do (even if they don't want to hear it!). Here, parents could:
- Decide not to give them a computer in their bedroom. Buying a laptop that they can use in their room at specific times but which then comes out of their bedroom into a main family area may be a good move. Even better, keep them using a family based computer that is based in an open area.
- Talk to them about the time they spend online. If they spend too much time on the Internet then discuss why this isn't good. If that doesn't work consider imposing times and limits.
- Make them aware of "stranger danger" on the Internet and the need to keep their privacy and themselves safe. This may not be a conversation parents want to have but it is an essential one. Stress the importance of not arranging to meet people they do not know that they meet online. Explain that they should never reveal personal contact details such as the school they go to, their address and their phone number to people they do not know.
- Explain the need to protect their online privacy. Joining sites and entering competitions will involve the transmission of personal data. They should not do this without checking with an adult first.
- Talk to them about appropriate online behaviour. Many pre-teens and teens lie about their ages to join social networking sites and chat rooms and then go on to use them like other adults. They need to understand the dangers and consequences of doing this.
Hopefully, being open with kids will help them better learn the rules of safe surfing. In some cases parents would rather take more control over online activity and will look to install some form of parental monitoring software or even a keylogging program to keep an eye on what their kids are doing.
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