Teach Your Children Internet Safety!

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Boys & Girls Clubs of America. I received a promotional item as a thank you for participating.

My husband and I both work from home and on a computer for our jobs. That means, my kids see us using the computer often and naturally want to use the computer as well. There are so many great resources online with free learning sites and educational tools and games that have been a very positive outlet for my kids. However, there is of course a lot of bad online as well. Up until recently my boys would just click on one of the preset sites I saved to our desktop that would open up a site that didn’t have any misleading ads or inappropriate content that I felt comfortable with my kids using.

Since my son start school this past year, though, he’s discovered all about web addresses from sites his teachers have shared, websites found on cereal boxes, on TV, and other locations. None of these sites have anything “bad” on them but all it could take is one keystroke missing and a misspelled word to end up on the wrong site. Internet safety goes beyond just the obvious of knowing their is inappropriate content online. There is also an abundance of cyber bullying and privacy concerns when the child starts to enter the socializing scenes that are so prevalent in our day.

Tips to Improve Internet Safety!

Computer Out in the Open – Simple storing your computer out where everyone can see what is going on will help keep your child from lurking where they shouldn’t. It keeps everyone in the household accountable for their time spent on the computer.

Set Time Limits – A time limit is important for more reasons than just keeping down the hours of screen time in a day. Playing around idly on the computer can lead to trouble. Encourage using computer time for a specific goal such as research, homework, or a certain approved game for a little bit of downtime.

Have Open Communication – Keep talking with your children about the limits and what is okay and not okay with internet use. Make sure your child feels comfortable coming to you if they’ve experienced bullying or stumbled across something that made them feel uncomfortable so you continue to keep them safe online.

Did you know that 1 in 3 parents believes their teen is more tech savvy then they are? Boys & Girls Clubs of America has created a fun brief quiz you can take to test your cyber smarts! Take the Cyber Survivor Challenge Quiz and see how you measure up!

The month of June is National Internet Safety Month. Let’s take the time this month to really be proactive and take care of the concerns we have about our children and the internet. You can learn tips and facts to get you started at CyberSafeFutures.org

What are your biggest internet safety concerns with your children?

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Boys & Girls Clubs of America. I received a promotional item as a thank you for participating.