The Internet is absolutely loaded with content and activities that are entertaining and educational for children. Modern kids have access to resources vastly beyond what their parents had, and beyond what some grandparents even understand. You’ve surely heard, though, that you need to protect your kids from the Internet’s dangers. There are a lot of dangers on the web, some of which include:
Inappropriate Websites
When home video players first came out, the porn industry roared right in to supply porn videos. Likewise, as soon as the Internet population reached critical mass, porn sites popped up like mushrooms. Young kids may encounter these by accident; hormone-crazed teens may seek them out deliberately. Gambling sites, sites promoting drugs or weapons, school cheating sites? There are a lot of places on the Internet that kids should not visit.
Dangerous Contacts
E-mail, instant messaging, and social networking allow your children a rich opportunity to communicate with friends and family even when they’re not nearby. It also exposes them to contact from absolutely anyone at all, including people you’d never let near them in person. Pedophiles groom contacts, establishing trust and possibly leading to a disastrous real-world meeting.
Too Much Information
Social networking is so much fun! Kids love to share their thoughts and impressions with friends. When they share your home address with the whole world, that’s a problem. And do you really want everyone to know that your house will be empty next week during your family trip?
Internet OverdoseThere are reportedly over a trillion Web pages out there. Your child could stay glued to the monitor day and night and never see them all. Staying up all night playing games leaves kids too tired to think in school, and sitting motionless at the computer for hours won’t help their physical development or health, either.
Tips
The best way in dealing with situation like this, is to put measures in place in order to protect your child from being a Vitim to any of these sites.
- Limiting the use of the internet access
- Set a time that the internet should be turned off
- Protect your devices and connections from external threats
- Use advanced products to do more parental control.