Internet Safety: Kids Personal and Chat Room Safety

Internet Safety is a topic that we all need to consider teaching our children right from the time your child begins to use a computer. It really is easy to teach this to our kids and we will find many opportunities while using our computers day-to-day to talk about computer safety and then more specifically Internet safety as your child watches you and other family members use the computer.

The first place to start is a discussion about personal safety while using a computer and surfing the Internet. Right from the time your child logs on to the computer and begins surfing and especially when they set up their own Email account. Another two very important things we want you to know about are Chat Room Safety and about larger social networking sites where we use MySpace as an example; however, the information is applicable to all social network sites online. Watch for our next Hub Page on Cyber bullying.

If you have read other work by New Child Safety or follow us on Twitter, you already know we are advocates of primary prevention. Primary prevention aims to address an issue (or in medicine a health event) before it happens. This is important when it comes to Internet safety. We must make sure our children know how easy it is for them to become a victim online before they even know what's happened, while at the same time not scaring the living daylights out of them. Child safety online is a serious issue and as parents we are sometimes really unsure about the whole topic because our children seem to always know more than we do.

Our children are growing up in an electronic age and soon use and understand this type of technology better and in more complex ways than the adults in their lives. By keeping up, logging on to a social networking accounts like MySpace or Facebook, you'll understand more about the world they live in. Keeping them safe online is important as they grow and we too need to role model these behaviors and tips for our kids, along with keeping our personal safety and identity protected.

If you are not sure what to do, do not worry we have a suggestion for you. Find New Child Safety on MySpace or Twitter. Let us know you are a parent or a care-giver trying to figure this all out. We will help you http://newchildsafety.com/socializing/socializing.html. We will look at your profile and let you know if we see anything that may compromise your safety. You can then talk about this with your family and check each other's profiles for any issues.

We know that it can feel overwhelming when thinking about all the things you have to teach your child about Internet safety....we suggest you start with this checklist first. Stress how important each item is and role play with your child. This is no different than when we teach them not to go with strangers when they ask a youngster to help them find the lost puppy.

You will open the conversation about Internet safety by just starting with a few important tips:

1. First, never EVER share your personal information online

2. Be aware that online communication is never private

3. Never accept contact, gifts or meetings with strangers online

4. Know that you have the authority of closing your child’s online accounts

5. Never send photographs of yourself online

1. Always decline all requests for personal information

2. Always use usernames or nicknames that have no relationship to your real name

3. Always report any case of chat room harassment to the authorities

4. Apply these same rules when chatting on mobile phones

5. First and foremost, open your own MySpace or other social networking account to familiarize with the sites

6. Remind your child that MySpace is a public website

7. Do not allow your child to lie about their age to sign up to MySpace

More internet safety information available at http://newchildsafety.com/internet%20safety/internet-safety.html