Parenting 

Advertisement

Child safety online: the do’s and don’ts

Making sure children are safe while they surf requires thought and planning on the part of parents, teachers and carers, so be prepared to put some effort in




What you should do

• Get on the learning curve: It's essential to find out how The Web works, what it has to offer and why children find it so attractive. Start is with an easy Beginner's Guide to the Internet, and you'll also need straightforward information for parents and teachers.

• Establish ground rules: You might, for instance, want to restrict computer uasage to certain times of the day, or as a growing number of parents are doing, remove all computer equipment from the bedroom and put it in the kitchen or living room. It's important to signal to children that surfing The Web is a social activity.

• When you're not around: There are times when you simply won't be able to watch the screen with children while they surf around, so be sure to let them know to alert you at once if they see anything disturbing. You can then trace how they came across it and help them avoid it in future.

Delicious     Digg     reddit     Facebook     StumbleUpon

  Get the latest iVillage news on your desktop    Sign up for more iVillage RSS feeds

© iVillage Limited 2000-2008. All rights reserved. | © iVillage inc. 1995-2008. All rights reserved.
iVillage Ltd is a UK company registered in England & Wales (3837269) at 80-110 New Oxford Street, London WC1 1HB