How Concerned Should You Be About Your Child's Safety Online?

The internet is one tool few families are willing to do without these days. It's useful in so many ways, as entertainment, for school projects, for keeping up with family and friends. But for all we love it for, the internet has its problems. How can you be sure your child is safe online?
There are a few things you can do to protect your child. It's no longer enough to say that you'll keep all computers in public areas so that you can see what your child is doing. There are too many gadgets that connect to the internet, and most of them are mobile.
1. Talk About It
No matter how much attention you pay to your child on the internet, there will probably come a time when he or she is on there without your direct supervision. You want to make sure that your child understands that the internet is not always a nice place, that people can say anything there, and that they can and should come to you with any problems.
Emphasize this rule for chats and other forms of communication you may not be able to see just by logging into your child's account. Make sure your child knows that other users can be blocked on many websites, and that you don't have to accept every chat request, so that he or she can get away from individuals who cause a problem.
2. Set Safety Rules
Safety rules for children aren't really all that different from the ones you follow much of the time, most likely. Talk about when it's appropriate to use a real name versus a screen name for privacy. Explain that personal contact information, especially photos, location and phone numbers, should never be shared online without your permission.
You may also want to set rules on who your child can friend online on any sites they play on. These sites will vary by age, of course, but you probably don't want your child friending just anyone online. Make sure your child understands that even online friends should not be given personal information unless you approve it. Explain that people aren't always who they claim to be online.
3. Show Your Child That Not Everything on the Internet Is True
This is one my husband and I had fun with. We told our daughter about the tree octopus on day while driving to her grandparents' house. She didn't believe us, so when we got to the house, we got on the internet and showed her. She was amazed, but believed it... until we explained that you can post anything on the internet, but that doesn't make it true.
She was a bit mad, but now she knows to question what she sees online and other places. I hope that bit of skepticism will do her good in the long run.
4. Keep Track of What Your Child Does Online
Just go over your child's online accounts with him or her regularly. Discuss how they're using each site, and any problems that have come up. You should know if he or she goes into chat rooms, who he or she is mostly in contact with, things like that. Sites where you're both members, you can insist on being on the friends list.
Just how carefully you track things depends on what your child needs. Some kids need to be monitored enough that you may want user names and passwords for all accounts, so that you can check on things directly. Other kids you may just be able to talk to in order to know enough about what's going on. Take the steps you feel are necessary, but if your child feels you're snooping too much, find out why. You may still find it necessary to "snoop," but at least you should learn something about what kind of privacy your child would like. It's your place to decide what level is appropriate.
5. Decide If Any Sites Need to Be Blocked
You can block some sites from being accessed at all through your computer, but this may vary by the device being used. As smart phones, iPads and so forth commonly allow children on the internet, you need to decide how to handle these extra ways to get online, especially if there has been a problem with particular sites.
6. The Internet Is Forever
Well, perhaps not quite forever, but make sure your child understands that anything posted online is out of their control, and others can take it and do as they will with it. Don't post personal information, don't be mean, don't post things you'd hate to see go viral, don't post things you wouldn't want a potential employer to see. Many say that companies will have to be more accepting over time of things they find about employees online, but do you really want to take a chance on that?
7. Remember That Bad Things Happen in Person Too
You may hear a lot about cyberbullying, but remember that many online problems relate to problems your child is having in person too. If a classmate is giving your child problems over the internet, odds are there's a problem in person too. Don't focus only on the online part.
Stephanie Foster runs Encourage Their Talents for parents who want to encourage their children's interests. Get ideas for what to do when your child wants to start a website at her site.