Wednesday 14 November 2007

Internet Safety For Children

The five things parents should note when their child is exploring on the Internet are-
- False Identity? At the age of 12-16 your children will start exploring chat rooms. When doing this the child should know that who they are talking to may not be who they say they are. for example a 12 year old online could think they are talking to a fellow 12 year old or just a couple of years older. When actually the recipient could actually be a pervy old 50 year old trying to get his kicks.
- Cyber Bullying- Cyber bullying is just as harmful as normal bullying. The person can still egt verbal comments, hurt their feelings or even threats.
- Sexual sites- At the age of 12-16 your child will probably start getting curious about the other sex or even the same sex. They may visit sexual sites that are not monitored. Some chat rooms are made for people meeting each other and swapping pictures. You have to be aware not to send anyone sexual pictures as again the person may not be who they say they are.
-Downloading Games- Of course this sound unharmful however a parent may not want not want their child witnessing crude fighting, abuse or killing.
A site to introduce to your children is Club Penguin. This is made for children ages 12-17 and is a safe site. It is a safe site because it is monitored. So if someone tries to type inappropriate words or abuse to someone it gets filtered and will not show on the monitored.
Also it allows you to type a user name instead of giving your real details out.
You may ask how is this site different form sites such as bebo, you tube or msn?While both sites offer forms of so-called “social networking”, My Space provides a forum for its users to post photos and other identifying personal information. Club Penguin strongly discourages the posting of any personal information and has a range of technological and human safeguards in place to ensure those details cannot get through.
This is important that parents know that there is a safe site for their children that is monitored and safe to meet people.

you can find this site by typing this address www.clubpenguin.com

No comments: