You're
a parent and you want your kids to learn about the Internet, but you
want them to learn how to locate and use the good sites.
This article is about just that--the bad things to
avoid and what's good on the Internet for kids.
One
of the worst things parents can do is to keep their kids away from the
Internet simply because they know certain dangers may lurk there.
That would be like keeping a child out of a library because not
all library books are healthy reading for children.
At
home, parents keep dangerous things, like matches and cleaning fluids
and drugs, out of reach for their kids until they've taught them the
dangers. The same thing applies to the use of the Internet:
children should first be taught which sites are good for them,
how they should behave with strangers, and what they should and
shouldn't do.
This
needs to be done before they're cut loose to explore on their own. Doing any differently would be as irresponsible as letting a
child drive a car with no training or supervision. Similarly, you don't tell a child not to go to school because
some kids are victimized there.
I
don't want to exaggerate the dangers for children of using the
Internet, but some of the Internet accidents youngsters have had were
as fatal as any car crash. Here
are some of the seamier headlines that should concern parents:
-
15-year-old Massachusetts girl kidnapped, held captive,
tortured and raped by a New York couple she met in an Internet
chat room
-
5
accused of raping a 12-year-old girl they met online
-
Scholar
jailed for pedophilic attack after internet chat
-
16-year-old
Marion girl who was reported missing went to Corinth, Miss. with
Anthony Newton, 37, whom she met online.
-
Cop
Charged in Sex Assaults on 2 Girls, One he met online
-
Woman
Lures Boy to His Death
-
Radio
Host Tries to Lure 14-Year-Old Girl For Sex
That
should be enough to give you some idea of the dangers that lurk on the
Internet. Having said
that, however, let me add that they’re less dangerous than letting
children run across a busy thoroughfare without teaching them road
safety.
While
the number of incidents like the ones I've cited is small, there are
real risks for any child using the Internet.
Parents need to be aware of these risks so that they can help
their children to avoid them.
What
are the risks?
1.
Exposure to Inappropriate Material
One
risk is that a child may be exposed to inappropriate material that is
sexual, hateful, or violent
in nature, or encourages activities that are dangerous or illegal.
2.
Physical Molestation
Another
risk is that, while online, a child might provide information or
arrange an encounter that could risk his or her safety or the safety
of other family members. In a few cases, pedophiles have used E-mail, bulletin boards, and chat areas to
gain a child’s confidence and then arrange a face-to-face meeting.
3.
Harassment
A
third risk is that a child might encounter e-mail or chat/bulletin
board messages that are harassing,
demeaning or belligerent. Some
of the foul exchanges that I've seen in several newsgroups are not
something that I would want to see a child exposed to.
How
Parents Can Reduce the Risks:
While
children need a certain amount of privacy, they also need parental
involvement and supervision in their daily lives. The same general
parenting skills that apply to the "real world" also apply
online. Here are the
first things to teach your kids about using the Internet safely:
Just
as you stay away from strangers on the street, be careful about
strangers on the Internet.
If
anyone uses nasty language or mentions things that make you
uncomfortable, don't respond, log off.
Never
give your real last name, address, or telephone number to anyone; if
someone asks for this information (or for your password), don't
respond. Log off and tell a trusted adult.
Never
agree to meet with someone you've talked with on the Internet without
asking permission from your parents first.
There
are places on the NET that are for adults only; if you find yourself
in an "adults-only" place, or anywhere you think you
shouldn't be, leave! There are plenty of good "kid places"
on the net.
Get
protective software:
Net
Nanny filters harmful Web sites, restricts Internet access,
monitors online activity, protects personal information, blocks IRC
chat and newsgroups and blocks search engines that point to adult
material. It can be
customized by the user, and is well worth the $39.95 (BD15) it costs.
For
a list of sites related to Internet safety for children, go to
Google's page on Child
Safety. A similar
list can be found at the Open
Directory Project.
Web
sites that are good for kids:
Kids
love games and can spend hours playing them on the Internet.
Games
aren't all bad, despite parents’ concern that their
children spend more time playing games than doing homework.
Some educational games can be just as beneficial to kids as
their homework.
Yahoo
has provided an excellent site for kids called Yahooligans.
It has some great interactive mind games, lots of information
and pictures about animals as well as clips from the latest movies
suitable for kids.
Yahooligans
also has kids jokes, science pages and references, including
dictionaries, encyclopedias, fact books and Shakespeare.
Kids can even ask questions and get answers online, read the
news and keep up with their favourite sports.
Berit's
Best features links to 1000 of the Web's best sites for kids.
It's got Activity Centers, Crafts, Coloring and a section
Especially for Girls. It also provides homework help and some good information
about safe surfing for kids.
The
Netsmartz Workshop has a
section for kids, another for parents and educators, and a special
section for teens coming soon. The
kids’ section makes interesting use of graphics and sound with both
useful and enjoyable content, from games to educational stuff.
For
an on-going list of sites that offer information for and about kids,
The Kids on the Web
has
lots of stuff for kids to play with, information for adults, and info
about schools and education.
Barbara
J. Feldman, a former computer consultant and programmer and the mother
of two young children, has created "Surfing the Net with
Kids" along with her syndicated newspaper column.
It's full of useful and regularly updated stuff.
Its current topics include "Internet Radio,"
"Fire Safety," and "Online research and Web Site
Evaluation."
The
Librarians' Index to the Internet will bring up two very useful pages
for kids and parents if you go to the site
and then type into the search engine "Children's Web sites,"
followed by "Internet and Children."
A
Kids
Privacy site provides useful information for kids, adults and
teachers about kids' rights to privacy.
Kids
Freeware has lots of free programs for kids to download.
Some are for fun, some for study and others related to
computers and the Web.
The
Internet Public Library, developed at the University of Michigan has
both a KidSpace page
and a TeenSpace page.
There's enough great stuff in these two sites to keep your kids
browsing safely while learning a lot of interesting things for hours.
No
list of kids’ sites would be complete without a Disney page.
Typically they've created an online audio-visual masterpiece in
their SurfSwell
Island page. There's also an Activity Center with some fascinating
activities along with Disney character galleries.
Finally,
for an entertaining, interactive way for families to learn valuable
lessons about online safety, visit Disney's Cyber
Netiquette site. The
interactive fables have been designed for parents and kids to enjoy
together.
Most
people who go online have mainly positive experiences. But, as with
any endeavor— traveling, cooking, or attending school—there are
some risks. The online world, like the rest of society, is made up of
a wide array of people. Most
are decent and respectful, but some may be rude, obnoxious, insulting,
or even mean and exploitative.
Children
get a lot of benefit from being online, but they can also be targets
of crime and exploitation in this as in any other environment.
Trusting, curious, and anxious to explore this new world and
the relationships it brings, children need parental supervision and
common-sense advice on how to be sure that their experiences in
"cyberspace" are happy, healthy, and productive.
Mention
this article to all the parents you know.
As psychologist Ron Taffel wrote in Parenting by Heart,
"Parents everywhere, trying to bring up kids in a plugged-in,
supercharged, high-tech world, need all the information and support we
can give each other."
