Is the Internet Safe for Our Children?

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Lucy_Lewis]Lucy Lewis
It will come as no surprise that the younger generation of today know more about the internet world than some adults. I know that my 9 year old step daughter knows how to create and write her own blog, play games, write emails to her family, etc. When I was 9 years old I was interested in skating up and down the hill by my house, riding my bike around 'the block' walking my dog and rolling down the stairs in my duvet and going back up and do it all over again! The internet barely existed back then, but I know by the time I was 13 years old, the internet world took off and you could find a computer with internet access pretty much everywhere, in people's homes, schools, and the library. I remember fighting with my brother to get on it when it made the journey to our family home. We used to fight a lot about who would be going on it next and for how long and in the end we had to make a rota. I remember I used to go on to Google and find pictures of animals and things I liked and print them off (can you imagine my mum's face of me holding 50 pieces of paper in my hand all with pictures of animals on).
I also remember going on sites such as 'habbohotel' and 'yoville'. These sites were basically kid friendly chat rooms with little avatar people, creating your own houses and buying goods for it, harmless right? On the outside they look kid friendly and safe, but now that I am an adult and have step children of my own I know there are big flaws in those websites and that is, nothing that is said on these sites can be traced because it is on a separate server and I knew there were a lot of older men and women on there, some completely innocent, some who had a sinister side, but sites like this can be addictive to a young teenager to get thrown into the interactive world where you can be whoever you like with no consequences.
So how can we as parents make sure that our children are safe on the internet?
1. Make sure all the parental safety controls are on the computer, this is stop your child going onto sites that could potentially be dangerous such as an innocent looking chat room, giving you the chance to check out the site yourself before letting them go on it.
2. Make sure you have a copy of all conversations they have, even with friends, it may feel like spying, but it is for their safety. Just for your own reassurance if anything was to ever go wrong. You can do this by creating the accounts yourself so you know the username and passwords, or just asking them. The only instant messaging service I have found that doesn't save any conversations is ebuddy that is an online based messaging service. Worryingly ebuddy is on most internet phones these days. So beware of that.
3. Check the history every now and again to see the type of websites they are visiting.
4. It is also important for a parent before getting a computer to know how to use it themselves so they know how to check and prevent your child going on anything they shouldn't.
5. Talk to your child and make it clear that they must not give out personal information such as name, address etc.
These are just a few I could think of, but the ways you can protect your child on the internet is endless. Of course not all children will be in danger on the internet and may never visit sites they aren't supposed to, but with all the safety measures now available and trust between parent and child, the internet world is a safer place.
Does your website have a forum or chat room that is rarely monitored or you are worried about the safety of your website for children and young adults then please get in touch with http://www.liquidbubble.com who are web designers based in London that may be able to help you make it a safer place for children and young adults alike, or do you have a website that needs help boosting, increasing customers or profits then get in touch.
Lucy Lewis is new at writing articles, with her charming and inquisitive mind she wants to explore the literacy world in a whole different light. So watch out for further articles.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Is-the-Internet-Safe-for-Our-Children?&id=6529319] Is the Internet Safe for Our Children?