Since we can’t keep our children on a leash, a concerned parent has to teach her children basic safety rules: don’t talk to strangers, look both ways before crossing, etc. Teaching them the value of, and the reasons for thinking ahead to prevent danger, is perhaps the most important help we can give them as they advance towards the inevitable: adulthood.
The same applies for safety on the internet. There are a number of aids you can use to prevent your teen from gaining access to sites and experiencing situations on the web that would best be avoided. Microsoft has provided step by-step information on spyware and blocking at http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/children/childrenonline.mspx. Install a spyware on your computer when they aren’t home, and they will never know it’s there.
Some parents might consider this “spying” on their child – and it is. You will know what websites your teen has visited, and be able to view them yourself. Although my children haven’t hit their teens yet, I plan to use every precaution when they are using a computer, and that includes spying on them. I also plan to teach them about the risks of giving out any personal information, and how you never truly know who you are chatting with.
You can teen-safety your computer, but that is not enough. Equally, or even more important is teaching your teen basic safety rules that apply when using the web. Explain to your teen about the potential online dangers, such as sexual predators. Your teen must understand why she should never should give out any personal information or leave a chat room’s public area to chat one-on-one. A gender neutral name is also an easy way to insure safety.
Keep track of what sites your child has accessed and place the computer in a family room. Allowing the teen to have an internet-connected computer in her bedroom increases the possibility she has to investigate sites out of curiosity. She will know that anything she does online can easily be viewed by you. I would try to keep the use of a home computer to research for homework. However, teens are curious creatures, and keeping track of what they do online can be difficult. That’s where the spyware software can help.
Since your teen more than likely will access computers outside the haven of home, you will only be able to monitor or safeguard your teen some of the time. If you have prepared her well, she will be able to keep her own safety in mind when out of your reach. Both when crossing the street and when surfing the web.
Stay Safe!