- The first of the five internet safety tips for parents is to have your children know how to safely use the computer. Let your kids know that using the internet to be safe is not a bad thing at all. It means that they should never visit anything they don’t know on the internet. This is the only way you can be sure your kid will be safe when visiting adult websites or even when they are visiting their everyday websites. Another good tip would be to teach them to be very cautious when giving out personal information on the internet. Make sure they know that a computer is not a place where they can hide and steal from you, but is a place where they can get help in case something goes wrong.
- There are many things you can do to protect your child from the dangers of the internet. Use the time to talk with your child about what they are doing and why. Get them involved with online games that are geared towards helping them learn new skills. This will help them make sure they use sound judgment when they are surfing.
- You should also monitor your child’s activity. You can do this by looking at their computer history every day. This is an obvious step, but one many kids do not seem to understand. You need to be sure what they are doing online is still with their parents. You also want to make sure that you are monitoring who they are visiting and what they are doing on there.
- Be sure to talk to your kids about online relationships. Be very careful about this one. A relationship can develop online involving a child and an adult very easily. Be sure you watch for this and talk with your child about it if you think your child may be in danger. If you are constantly worried about your child’s activity online, consider getting them a special account just for their online activities.
- Another one of the internet safety tips is to have passwords on all of your devices. This is very important. If a device gets lost or stolen, the thief has no way of accessing any personal information on it. This will help keep your family safe from predators online.
- Be sure that children only share the devices that they need with you. For instance, if you have internet enabled in a room of your home, you should only let your children use that room’s laptop. This helps to keep anyone out of that room who has the capability of getting into your home or computer. It will also make sure that any information or private data is secure.
- You should also be very careful about giving out your email address. When your child is younger, there are dangers when giving out this information. It is especially dangerous if you are not sure that the person you are chatting with is who you think they are. This is why most internet safety tips include telling children to keep their email accounts password protected. As an added extra measure, make sure that you or your child never give out their account to a stranger. That is the best way to be safe while still being online.
- Finally, do not let your child answer any anonymous email messages that come to their email address. These could be viruses or spyware programs. They could be put there by someone with ill intent. Even if you think the message is legitimate, it might still be harmful for your child to read. If you notice any unusual behavior on your email account, make sure to contact a reliable computer security service or the Department of Defense.
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