Did you teach them how to be safe online when using them, too?
Bad Santa!
Many of these electronic items allow Internet access or have the ability to send and receive messages, pictures and videos.
As a parent, you should realize that many of these allow your child to play with people from all over the world. They can also communicate with them.
So, it’s time to have a chat with your child about using any or all of these items. Here’s my 3 Post-Christmas Internet Safety Gaming Quick Tips:
1. Make sure your game player knows to not give out personal information to fellow game players. This
is information such as their names, ages, address, school or phone numbers.
2. Check the game system instructions for information about privacy controls and parental restrictions that can protect children.
3. Encourage children to report inappropriate contact with strangers, especially sexually suggestive comments, attempts and such.
For Your Tween
Just because these items connect to the Internet does not mean you actually have to do it. Assess what comfort level you have with your child alone online. Assess their ability to understand the most basic online safety skills. If either of these have the slightest uncomfortable feeling to it, do not connect them to the Internet. Neither you nor your child are ready to take on the world of online strangers at this time.
For Your Teen
Teach them to be part of the solution. Teens understand the Internet and its connections to others, especially people they don’t know. Make sure your teen readily accepts the responsibility to online safety practices in exchange for the privilege of being online, no matter if they TEXT, FLIX or PIX. Empowering them with trust and respect for themselves and others will go a long way.
Teen Internet Safety
Just what are our programs like? They are fun, informative, exciting and run by some of the leading experts in their field.
Keeping Kids Safe Together
This program, produced by Keeping Kids Safe and Synergy Solutions is cutting edge Internet Safety and today’s technology. ICFL members Joyce Jackson and Mark Boersma have joined forces in this phenominal program to keep kids safe today, in the new Internet Era.
We take it to schools, like Northgate High School in Walnut Creek, CA to provide instant and immediate online safety skills to educators, parents and students alike.
Posted by Joyce on September 23, 2008 under Internet Safety for Teens | Comments are off for this article
Does your teenager want to use the Internet to meet and communicate with new cyber-friends? Are they looking for others who share similar interests? To do this, they may want to go into online chat rooms.
Internet chat rooms are fun and a way to meet new friends. Its also easy to use and interact with others. There are some pretty safe places for teens to go online however, not all online chat rooms are safe. That is one reason why many parents often allow their kids to use message boards instead of chat rooms. You may wonder, though, if its really a safer option.
Even if you aren’t an avid internet user yourself, you likely know that online message boards and online chat rooms are different. Online chat rooms have live communication appearing on the screen. Conversations are held at that very moment. Message boards involve communications that may carry on for days or even weeks. There are also more detailed and themed discussed that occur on message boards, as opposed to chat rooms. Common message board topics for teens include homework, parents, pets, music and sports.
Message Boards do not have conversations that are live. Multiple posters may be online at the same time, but it is common for someone to post a topic and not get a response for a few hours or even a day or two. In fact, if your child makes a post about their new pet, someone may ask about their pet or congratulate them when they aren’t even online themselves. This gives many parents comfort and peace of mind in suing Message Boards instead of chat rooms.
Another reason why some parents prefer letting their children use online message boards is that they usually are monitored by a trusted adult. This person is sometimes paid for their work. This means that all offensive posts should be removed in a relatively short period of time. Many times, the moderator will also ban that user from returning.
As a parent, you set the rules for your teenager online. If you are going to allow them to use message boards, remember that not all message boards are moderated. Most message boards for adults also have someone who reviews the content. With that said, there is no harm in checking. In fact, the same should be done with internet chat rooms.
If a chat room for children or teenagers is only open for a few hours a day, as opposed to 24 hours a day, there is a good chance that a monitor is present. This may give you some comfort and peace of mind. Also, be sure to examine internet chat rooms and message boards for kids that do not allow other users to privately communicate with each other through the use of private messages, also commonly known as a PM.
Whether you let your child use an online chat room or an online message board, you should first check it out for yourself. Visit a chat room. Do not talk to anyone, but see for about five minutes what type of content is being talked about. The same should be done with online message boards for kids. Do you think that the content is safe or do any chatters or posters seem too mature for the room or message board?
As for how you can go about finding online message boards and chat rooms that are safe for your child to visit or to checkout for yourself first, you may want to perform a standard internet search. Search with a phrase like “safe online messages boards for children.” There are also television networks, like Nick and The N, which are designed for both teens and tweens, that have online message boards. They can allow your child to chat with others who like the same shows.
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