Practice Safe Internet: 4 Rules To Give Your Children Time Online

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Children these days don't live the lives that we lived as children—that's for sure. One way where this is undeniable is the technology today's kids have at their fingerprints. Think about how excited you were a child to visit the local library and then imagine the vast wealth of information a child has right there as soon as they know how to handle a mouse and keyboard. Unfortunately, the internet is not all liberation and freedom of education—event he dullest of us can see that.

With its great potential as mind-freeing resource also comes a dearth of dangers in the form of corrupting information, and most importantly, child predators. It is vital to establish online rules for your children and insist they are followed. Here are a few to start with:

1. Time Limits

While this may seem a little off subject in regards to Internet safety, it is nevertheless important to establish time limits for online activity. There are two reasons for this. For one thing, whether or not the dangers are immediately apparent or not, too much sedentary activity is indeed hazardous to your child's health, and a lifetime of bad habits from an early age can lead to premature death due to health issues.

The second reason is that when people spend too much time online, they lose somewhat of a grasp of reality. Not to say they go crazy or anything, but they do start to see the "world," especially the virtual world, in a different light and are more apt to make rash decisions based on this light.

2. Personal Info is Personal

Your child should know from an early age that they never give away personal information online—they never know who they are talking to or what their intentions are. In fact, your children should be instructed to hold personal details, like home address, as next to sacred, offline and online.

They should not even tell an online "friend" if they are alone or not, and they should always use a fake name that is gender-ambiguous. And sending pictures to a stranger online is an absolute no-no. Leverage the anonymity of the internet because you can bet the predators are.

3. Never Meet Someone from the Web Alone

This should go without saying, but in this day and age, it has become common for people who meet on the web to later meet in person, and chances are you child will get caught up in this as well. So if you can't completely eliminate the possibility that this desire will arise, it is better to insist that if they meet anyone online, ever, they must have your permission and they must take along an adult.

Even a child will see the second version of this rule as reasonable, even if the first seems like too much to them.

4. Never Give Away Passwords

Passwords should never be known by anyone but a child or a child's parents. This includes their friends. Passwords are meant to be taken seriously as knowing passwords often makes personal information available.

Not only that but should a child have a falling out with a friend, knowing their passwords can provide means for harassment and cyber-bullying. As tragic as it sounds, such cases have resulted in child suicide in this day and age.

Teach them responsible password management.

5. Rules Must be Followed

It seems silly, but who would follow your rules if you don't take them seriously yourself? A rule is a rule, and if a child breaks it, there should be punishment. This includes trying to circumvent measures you've put into place, like child filters. When a rule that protects safety is broken, there should always be repercussions.

While you can't control the Internet, you can establish a little control at home by teaching your children responsible internet behavior and keeping a close eye on what is going on. Put computers where you can monitor their activity and use current technologies that are built to make your role as a parent easier.

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