Internet Child Safety

 

One thing that is on everyone's mind lately, especially those with children, is the safety of the Internet. Lets face it; any powerful tool in the wrong hands can be used for the wrong and sometimes criminal purposes. Parenthood is never easy and the ground rules are always changing. We play so many roles for our families: playmate, confidante, police chief to teacher and back again, with barely a break to catch our breath.

Parenthood is a rewarding but ever-changing challenge. No time to get used to the baby crawling that he or she already asks for the car keys! At least, that the way it seems to be. But in between, many stages took place and as parents, we have to constantly switch hats. In a normal day, we are the confidant, teammate, teacher, learner and at times police officer. It is like an acting class, changing roles every few minutes. We barely have the chance to catch our breath!

The safety of our dear little heads is also constantly changing. We have to watch for their health, nutrition, education… and of course for their safety. Keeping hot coffee off the coffee table, avoiding small things to be swallowed, watching sugar intake, vitamins, potty training… From the removal of obstacle during the first steps to the wear of helmet and kneepads when biking or skating it never stops!

Paradoxaly, we tend to control every aspects of the children's life to make them independent. That's our job, as parents.

The love we feel for our children is nothing new, for generations people have loved and cared for children. This in turn is how the majority of our parent skills come to be. We have learnt from our parents and their family skills, whether we agreed with them or not.

Fortunately and unfortunately technology is changing the face of our communities at a very rapid pace. The tried and true solutions that our parents passed on might have no bearing on these new challenges. There are truly real dangers our children will face in cyberspace, and since most of our children know more about computers and software then perhaps what we know, how can we protect them? In the following pages you will find information to protect yourself and your family.

WHAT IS THE INTERNET?

In the 1950's the Advanced Researched Projects Agency, a department of the US Government, the ARPA (net) created the idea of computer networking to enable computers to communicate with each other, but the real creation of the World Wide Web (www) will come much later. In 1989, somewhere in Switzerland, a researcher from the CERN in Geneva named Tim Berners-Lee created the Internet. The purpose was to enable physicists and researchers to collaborate on the high energy physics study. Tim Berners-Lee is now the director of the World Wide Web Consortium, W3C.

In 1993 Marc Andreesen an undergraduate student at the University of Illinois was working on a project for the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) that led to the development of the first graphic interface browser called Mosaic. Thanks to its graphical user interface (GUI), it became immediately popular. Just by using the clicks of the mouse, any computer user, with or without expertise was able to navigate the World Wide Web. Suddenly, any computer seems to be worthless if it could not talk to the other millions machines known as cyberspace. The WWW grew very quickly and is still expanding. In 1994, Marc Andreesen left NCSA joined by Jim Clark formed a company later known as Netscape Communication Corporation.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR YOUR CHILDRENS FUTURE?

In today's world, technology is everywhere, from a microwave oven, to cell phones, to a PDA and soon to your medication (Nanorobot). Technology is everywhere and information is everywhere. Schools and the workforce are just one of the many places that it is expected that you have some sort of computer skills. It is vital for our children's future to be familiar with this new environment. They must acquire the skills to access safely the tremendous learning potential offered by the Internet. It will be primordial for developing their job skills and reaching the global community. Technology literacy will be required in almost every job. The Internet has opened some new doors as exciting as they are sometimes scary. News and “point of view” from all over the world is now at the disposition of a simple click.

On a more present effect, the Internet is the largest source of information ever assembled, to make Diderot the creator of the first encyclopedia drool of envy. This will allow children to prepare their homework by opening their mind to different ideas and explore the full spectrum of the cultural landscape.

The Internet has developed in different directions. From the static websites use for promotion or information to the very popular chat room and bulletin board logs. Being able to converse with other kids from the other end of the world is a Jules Verne dream available today.

 

TRAPS AND DANGERS OF THE INTERNET

The Internet isn't perfect. Leaving your children on the Information Superhighway is as dangerous as dropping them off on a motorway. Different dangers are present. Parents should be aware of:

•  Easily accessed sites with sexually explicit images and text.

•  Easily accessed sites (including game sites) supporting hatred, racism, sexism, violence, drugs, bigotry, cults, and other things not suitable for children.

•  Dis-information, in-accurate, manipulative or false information

•  Usually, alcohol and tobacco ads face no restriction and could be visible to children

•  Marketing that deceptively collects personal information from kids in order to sell products to them or their parents

•  Sometimes, in Chat room, there could be bullies and predators that would harass your child and take advantage of his/her trust.

 

DID YOU KNOW?

53% of teens have encountered offensive Web sites that include pornography, hate or violence. Of these, 91% unintentionally found the offensive sites while searching the Web. (Source: Yankelovich Partner survey, The Safe America Foundation; 9/30/99)

Pornographers disguise their sites with misspellings and common brand names such as Disney, Pokemon, Nintendo, Barbie, ESPN, etc., to entrap innocent children. (Source-surveillance study, March 1999)

62% of parents of teenagers are unaware that their children have accessed objectionable Websites. The number of Internet-related abductions has gone from 13 in 1996 to over 800 in 1999, and that figure continues to rise at an alarming rate.

While 75% of parents say they know where children spend time online, the truth about kids' Internet habits shows that: 58% of teens say they have accessed an objectionable Web site, 39% - offensive music, 25% - sexual content, 20% - violence

GENERAL GUIDELINES

* Teach your children about safety online; children should never give out personal information such as full name, address, birth date, phone number, where they go to school or other identifying information. They should be aware that the Internet is just like the real world and in talking to strangers there is a danger. Even more so on the Internet as in real life a child can see who the stranger is and judge, to some extent, the threat. On the Internet you don't see the person, or if they send a picture you don't know if that is in fact the person. Adults can pretend to be other children or teenagers very easily.

* Monitor your children's' online activity; know what they do online. Let children know you are not being nosy, but that you are only trying to protect them. Show an interest in what they are ‘into', their hobbies and interests. How they feel about certain subjects and what concerns them. You might be surprised to find your child knows more about the world around them then you thought.

* NEVER place a computer that is attached to the Internet in a child's bedroom; keep wired computers in a main area in the house where online problems can be easily detected. Limit time on the computer to homework times and allotted times for good behavior. Don't forget the more important family time and time for outside exercise. If you want or it is convenient, why not combine the family time and computer time together? There are great areas for games that can be played by you and your kids. I am not just talking about the role-playing, shoot-em up games either. Monopoly, scrabble as well as many other educational games are out there to enhance your child's mind and decision-making. Check out yahoo.com or pogo.com under the games category.

* Research children-friendly aides such as monitors (which can tell you where your child has visited), filters (which prevent your child from visiting sites based on various criteria), Internet service providers (ISPs) with child-friendly access, and suggesting children use child-friendly search engines such as www.yahooligans.com. There are many other kinds of spy ware that will track anyone who is using your computers, including babysitters and caretakers.

*Search engines now have filtering options. By selecting options most of the inappropriate content is filtered out and the search results are typically kid-friendly. Two commercial search engines that were designed just for kids, and are wonderful places for your child's search online are Yahooligans! And Ask Jeeves for Kids. In addition to kid-sized search engines, there are many family-friendly site lists. WiredKids has one of its own, where the sites are selected and reviewed by wired moms and dads.

*Different sites will have different information for kids about safety on the internet, but one worth mention is Disney's Surfswellisland.com, which teaches safety with Disney flair. Characters find themselves involved in tropic island cyber-challenges relating to viruses, privacy, netiquette (cyber-etiquette) and responsible surfing. Lesson plans, online safety worksheets and other wonderful resources are all available without charge. Larry Magid's Safekids.com is another longtime respected site with great resources, with ideas for teens as well as kids.

Knowledge is power, and even if the dangers of the Internet are far from being eliminated, lots of tools are out there to help you protect your children. Being aware without becoming paranoid is much easier when you know your subject and remember, talking with your children and showing open mind will make it easier for them to report any suspicious Internet activities to You. Make them your ally instead of acting like a prison guard.

Robert Tallone  is a computer expert and network  specialist . He is the author of different articles. He owns and operate a computer business in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada . He has a website http://www. rightclickhome.com Copyright 2005 Robert Tallone . This article may be reprinted freely only  if the resource box is left intact, linking back to us.