Teaching Kids to use the Net

Teaching kids to use the Net

By Sudha Hariharan

Don't talk to strangers.Look both ways before crossing the street. For most people, they're lessons learned at an early age. But in the digital world--where kids juggle talking on a cell phone, instant chatting with friends, doing online homework and games, and blogging on sites like MySpace.com--life's little lessons take on a whole new level of complexity.

Though children always seem to have a leg up on parents when it comes to adapting to new technology, experts say few of them have been taught the do's and don'ts online. But parents and educators are more concerned than ever with dangers presented by the Internet, given reports of privacy invasions and predators targeting children through chat rooms and blogs.

Teen Turmoil

By taking responsibility for your children's online computer use, parents can greatly minimize any potential risks of being online. Make it a family rule to:

• Never give out identifying information-- home address, school name, or telephone number-- in a public message such as chat or bulletin boards, and be sure you're dealing with someone that both you and your child know and trust before giving it out via E-mail. Think carefully before revealing any personal information such as age, marital status, or financial information. Consider using a pseudonym or unlisting your child's name if your service allows it.

• Get to know the services your child uses. If you don't know how to log on, get your child to show you. Find out what types of information it offers and whether there are ways for parents to block out objectionable material.

• Never allow a child to arrange a face-to-face meeting with another computer user without parental permission. If a meeting is arranged, make the first one in a public spot, and be sure to accompany your child.

• Never respond to messages or bulletin board items that are suggestive, obscene, belligerent, threatening, or make you feel uncomfortable. Encourage your children to tell you if they encounters such messages. If you or your child receives a message that is harassing, of a sexual nature, or threatening, forward a copy of the message to your service provider and ask for their assistance.

• Remember that people online may not be who they seem. Because you can't see or even hear the person it would be easy for someone to misrepresent him- or herself. Thus, someone indicating that "she" is a "12-year-old girl" could in reality be a 40-year-old man.

• Remember that everything you read online may not be true. Any offer that's "too good to be true" probably is. Be very careful about any offers that involve your coming to a meeting or having someone visit your house.
• Set reasonable rules and guidelines for computer use by your children Remember to monitor their compliance with these rules, especially when it comes to the amount of time your children spend on the computer. A child or teenager's excessive use of online services or bulletin boards, especially late at night, may be a clue that there is a potential problem..

Guidelines for Parents

• Check out blocking, filtering, and ratings applications. Be sure to make this a family activity. Consider keeping the computer in a family room rather than the child’s bedroom. Get to know their online friends just as you get to know all of their other friends. If your child has a cellular telephone, talk with him or her about using it safely. The same rules that apply to computer use, also apply to cellular telephones.

What Are the Risks?

There are a few risks for children who use the Internet or other online services. Teenagers are particularly at risk because they often go online unsupervised and are more likely than younger children to participate in online discussions regarding companionship, relationships, or sexual activity.

Some risks are

Exposure to Inappropriate Material A child may be exposed to inappropriate material that is sexual, hateful, or violent in nature, or encourages activities that are dangerous or illegal. Children could seek out such material but may also come across it on the web via chat areas, E-mail, or even instant messaging if they’re not looking for it.

Physical Molestation----A child might provide information or arrange an encounter that could risk his or her safety or the safety of other family members. In some cases child molesters have used chat areas, E-mail, and instant messages to gain a child’s confidence and then arrange a face-to-face meeting.

Harassment and Bullying---- A child might encounter messages via chat, E-mail, or their cellular telephones that are belligerent, demeaning, or harassing..

Viruses and Hackers----- A child could download a file containing a virus that could damage the computer or increase the risk of a hacker gaining remote access to the computer; jeopardizing the family’s privacy and safety.

Legal and Financial----A child could do something that has negative legal or financial consequences such as giving out a parent’s credit-card number . Legal issues aside, children should be taught good netiquette which means to avoid being inconsiderate, mean, or rude.

How Parents Can Reduce the Risks

While children need a certain amount of privacy, they also need parental involvement and supervision in their daily lives. If you have cause for concern about your childrens’ online activities, talk to them. Having open communication with your children, using computer resources, and getting online yourself will help you obtain the full benefits of these systems and alert you to any potential problem that may occur with their use.

How you respond will determine whether they confide in you the next time they encounter a problem and how they learn to deal with problems on their own.

Beyond these basics, there are some specific things that you should know about the Internet. For instance did you know that there are chat areas, newsgroups, and web sites that have material that is hateful, is violent, or contains other types of material that parents might consider to be inappropriate for their children? Its possible for children to stumble across this type of material when doing a search using one of the web sites that is specifically designed to help people find information on the Internet. Most of these sites, called search engines, do not, by default, filter out material that might be inappropriate for children, but some offer a childsafe option and some are designed specifically for use by children.

Also the Internet contains newsgroups, web sites, and other areas designed specifically for adults who wish to post, read, or view sexually explicit material including pictures, stories, and videos. Some of this material is posted on web sites where there is an attempt to verify the user’s age and/or a requirement for users to enter a credit-card number on the presumption that children do not have access to credit-card numbers.

Other areas on the Internet make no such effort to control access. Nevertheless, consider monitoring your credit-card bills for such charges. In addition to adult pornography, there are also areas on the Internet that contain illegal child pornography

In addition there are ways to filter or control what your children can see and do online. One type of filter, called a spam filter limits unsolicited E-mail including mail promoting sexually explicit material. Some ISPs and E-mail services include filters as part of their service but, if not, there is software you can purchase that will attempt to limit the type of mail that gets through.

Another option is to use a rating system that relies on web-site operators to indicate the nature of their material. Internet browsers can be configured to only allow children to visit sites that are rated at the level that the parents specify. The advantage to this method is that only appropriately rated sites can be viewed. The disadvantage is that many appropriate web sites have not submitted themselves for a rating and will therefore be blocked.

While technological-child-protection tools are worth exploring, they are not a panacea. To begin with, no program is perfect. There is always the possibility that something inappropriate could slip through or something that is appropriate will be blocked. Finally, filtering programs do not necessarily protect children from all dangerous activities

Kids' Rules for Online Safety

1.	I will not give out personal information such as my address, telephone number, parents’ work address/telephone number, or the name and location of my school without my parents’ permission.
2.	I will tell my parents right away if I come across any information that makes me feel uncomfortable.
3.	I will never agree to get together with someone I "meet" online without first checking with my parents. If my parents agree to the meeting, I will be sure that it is in a public place and bring my mother or father along.
4.	I will never send a person my picture or anything else without first checking with my parents.
5.	I will not respond to any messages that are mean or in any way make me feel uncomfortable. It is not my fault if I get a message like that. If I do I will tell my parents right away so that they can contact the service provider.
6.	I will talk with my parents so that we can set up rules for going online. We will decide upon the time of day that I can be online, the length of time I can be online and appropriate areas for me to visit. I will not access other areas or break these rules without their permission.
7.	I will not give out my Internet password to anyone (even my best friends) other than my parents.
8.	I will check with my parents before downloading or installing software or doing anything that could possibly hurt our computer or jeopardize my family’s privacy
9.	I will be a good online citizen and not do anything that hurts other people or is against the law.
10.	I will help my parents understand how to have fun and learn things online and teach them things about the Internet, computers and other technology.