Ground Rules for your children

Make The Ground Rules Early

Some of the risks you are exposed to without proper supervison of children

The risk of children being subjected to online predators alot older than themselves.
The risk of your computer becoming infected with viruses and spyware.
Your children divulging personal details about themselves like name, address and mobile number.
Online bullying
Open to spam emails which could contain violent and sexually explicit content.

There are many scare stories about children that have met adults that they have chatted to online in Chat Rooms and Instant Messengers and predators that prey on young children. You have to remember that most people online are there for no other reason than to chat, surf and find information and are safe. You should also make sure that you explain things in a quiet manner so that they understand. Your daughter is more likely to say she is alot older than she realy is so she feels more grown up. Children are by nature enquisitive and will try to find things out for themselves, shoughting at them, or banning them from the computer will not make for safe and responsible internet use. There are quite alot of parents out there that feel left out and at a loss at what to do because of the simple fact they don't know much about the internet, and the fact is children these days grow up with computers and so are at ease when using them and surfing the internet.

Think Ahead

If you are not very computer literate take a course or get a friend to teach you the basics so that you can understand some of the dangers.
Decide and discuss what your children can and cannot do online.
Think about purchasing some "Parental Control" software. this would make things easier for you.
Mkae sure that you explain to your children that if they have ANY problems they come straight to you to talk about it.

Ground Rules

Agree ground rules for your childrens use of the internet.

Firstly set days and times that your children can use the internet. This is a good idea if you have more than one child that will want to use the internet.
Discuss and agree what sites they are, and are not allowed to use.
Warn them about the dangers of giving out their email address in chat rooms, or on Instant Messenger.
Warn them about the dangers of giving out personal details like address, phone and mobile number, school and even sending pictures.
Explain to them, or get them to read about viruses and spyware so that they do not put your computer and data at risk.
Set Internet Explorer to limit access to inappropriate content. To do this: go to the Tools menu and click Internet Options. Select the Content tab and then click Enable under Content Advisor.

One of the best things to do when you start out is to sit with your children, especially the younger ones and use the internet and make a point of making them feel at ease. Set time aside and do not rush things.