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Internet Safety for School Age Children

By Oguz Ozdemir

Social media. A year ago no one knew what it was and now people you never expected are tweeting. It began with MySpace and then along came Facebook and Twitter. The age of telling everyone every thing we are doing every second of every day is upon us. There are enough dangers and scams on the internet for adults, how do you protect your children from potentially dangerous situations?

You should always use your parental controls if you have them set up. If not find a way to get them set up. Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to dealing with children. You should know what your children are up to and in to. If you are not sure, check the history. And if you share a computer you should refrain from storing your passwords for instant access.

Try to emphasize to your children that many times people on the internet are not who they appear to be. Lonely teens who are trying to fit in are easy prey for sexual predators. Talk with their friends and make sure that they know the dangers of setting up meetings with strangers that they met on the internet.

One of the most disturbing cases of misrepresentation on the internet came about a few years ago. A woman posed as a boy who at first was interested in a young girl at her daughter's school. Evidently her daughter did not like this girl so the mother became the first nationally known case of cyber bullying. After hooking the young girl in she turned around and told the girl over the internet that the world would be a better place without her in it. Thinking that she was being rebuffed by a young man, the young girl committed suicide.

Check out your child's MySpace and Facebook pages and even work on them with them. Make it a creative outlet rather than a spying session. You get to spend time with your child and you both get to know each other a little bit better. As a parent with a growing child you should take advantage of every chance you get to know about your child.

Make sure that your child feels comfortable talking to you about upsetting or unusual things they may see on the internet. There are enough disturbing images and sources of information that they can land on, encourage them to let you know if this happens.

Let your child knows that once something is put out on the internet it can expose them to situations that they never knew were possible. Make sure they don't post any photos of themselves that would be deemed inappropriate. This opens you and your child up to a whole new set of serious situations.

Using the internet at home, at school and at the library has become an every day routine. On the plus side is the vast amount of information that is right at your fingertips. But there are real dangers and you and your child should be aware of them. If you or your child has experienced any type of inappropriate behavior on the internet, scams or fraud, you may want to contact our legal team of experienced lawyers. Call Napoli Bern Ripka for a complimentary consultation today.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Oguz Ozdemir

Full post as published by New York City Personal Injury Lawyer on September 08, 2009 (boomark / email).