Safe Sites for Kids |
Lynn Hargrove the original cyber mom gives tips to help keep your little one safe online
In the second installment of her biweekly column for Canadianparents.com, Lynn Hargrove the original cyber mom, offers tips to help find safe sites for your child to surf.
At some point during parenthood, every mom and dad comes across their child perusing through inappropriate websites. Let’s face it – kids are curious and it’s challenging to monitor every single site they visit, let alone make sure they don’t click on a suspicious banner ad or download a “harmless” game. But parents can be proactive and engage with their kids early on to ensure that they are aware of the types of sites that are off limits and could leave them feeling uncomfortable or put them at risk. Here are three general approaches to help your kids be safe online:
1. Show an active interest and be involved in your child’s Internet use. When they know you’re paying attention, they’ll likely be more cautious and make better decisions. Kids who talk to their parents about Internet safety are much less likely to become victims.
2. Look, ask and listen. Walk by while your child is online, look over their shoulder and ask them what they like to look for, what sites their friends visit, what they like about the sites and how they learned about it. Remember to always keep the computer in a common family room and avoid leaving your child alone to surf the web.
3. Do your own research. Check out the email accounts your child has registered for or Websites they visit to see how much information is being requested upon registration. Take a look at the sites’ privacy policies and ensure that they have the following basic elements:
- What information the site will collect and how it will be used
- Ability to choose whether your information can be collected or used
- Access to the information you provide so you can correct inaccuracies, or remove it from the site
- Security to protect your information from loss, misuse, or alteration
It’s equally important that your computer is updated with the latest security updates, browsers and Internet security software. Free online safety solutions, such as OnlineFamily.Norton, also offer parents the tools to manage where their kids go online, how long they are online, who they talk to and what information is being shared with others. This type of solution works very well as long as parents have an open, positive dialogue with their kids about good online habits. Being sneaky and “spying” on your kids is never a good idea and often leads children to be much more secretive and unwilling to share their online experiences with their parents.
There are also several sites that offer safe, fun and educational content for kids. Here are a few to share with yours:
Child-friendly Websites
Kidz World - www.KidzWorld.com
Yahoo! Kids - http://Kids.Yahoo.com
CBC Kids - www.CBC.ca/Kids
Canadian Geographic for Kids - http://CanadianGeographic.ca/Kids
Child-friendly search engines
Safe Search Kids - www.SafeSearchKids.com (powered by Google)
Kid Rex - www.KidRex.org
AOL Kids - http://Kids.Aol.com
Click here to read Lynn's first column about starting the talk about online saftey with your child.
About the Author
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Lynn Hargrove, Director, Consumer Solutions for Symantec (Canada) Corp.
The original cyber mom, Lynn Hargrove has been with Symantec (Canada) Corp. for more than 10 years, holding various senior-level positions. Over the years, Lynn has worked closely with a number of Canadian organizations, such as Ontario Provincial Police, to educate parents about family online safety and cybercrime. Her daughter Sydney is eight years old.
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Marcos | April 19, 2010 at 11:15 am - §
Thanks for the these stuff you have sharing with us.