The safety of children online: a guide for parents
Posted on July 7th, 2009 in Degree News, Online Option
While it may not be suitable content (and characters) on the Web, it is not difficult to protect young people from potential hazards. Read on to learn how to give children the freedom to surf without worrying about the consequences.
Two years ago, child psychologist Dr. Tanya Byron, perhaps best known for his BBC series’ Little House Tearaways, was asked by the Prime Minister to develop an independent review to examine the risks to children from exposure to the Internet and video games.
When the report was published last year, noted that there is a “generational digital divide which means that parents do not necessarily feel equipped to help their children in this space.” This is coupled with a “risk aversion, where the culture, which tends to keep children” in “despite their developmental needs to socialize and take risks.”
So how can we care for our children in a (cyber) space, we understand the least? And how can we overcome understandable, if sometimes misplaced, fears about the threats that we can leave our children to grow in line while keeping away from danger? The starting point is to understand these risks.
Threats
“The nature of the threat is changing,” says David Miles, Director of European Family Online Safety Institute (Fosi), a body representing the industry some of the biggest names in technology. “Two years ago, is a research-oriented culture that was dominated by adults. Today we live in a world of user-generated content is no longer an adult only environment.
In short, content and contact.
Some areas are clearly not going to allow his son, obviously, extremely violent and sexually explicit material. But other issues, such as drugs, age may also be inadequate.
Meanwhile, there is no doubt that the explosion of social networking sites like MySpace and Bebo has become more complex the issue of contact. When an email is a relatively closed social networks are all on the web.
This leaves young people open to possibilities of identity theft, identity theft, malicious, online predators, is ongoing and the victim – or authors – of cyber-bullying.
What to say
Good communication between parents and children is essential. That’s what Carrie Longton, co-founder of Mumsnet, the largest online network of parents in the United Kingdom.
“There are some fantastic [software] for the products, but it’s all about parenting – stranger danger, the rules of the house, a constant.
“These are skills that have used their child has been in the past two and had the ability to put his hand into the socket.”
If you suspect your child is most connected to the Internet you are, it is recommended to fight their own lack of knowledge to his son to show how the technology.
“Get your child to talk through how to set up a Bebo account. Ask them to create one for you and let them make fun of you. And along the way, you can learn, and explain the pitfalls.
Miles agreed that the communication is an important part of the solution, but warns against too closely. Children need a sense of space and freedom on the Internet. “Some parents say:” I am opening up a Facebook site and I want to be the first friend. “Oh, come on.”
What to do?
But you have a good relationship with their children and as hard as you try to teach them to behave responsibly, the nature of the web, is inadequate in its content – and perhaps dubious people. And as a result of software to play a role in their protection. There are five major categories.
The first is Web filtering, which allows you veterinary website content. You create a blacklist of unsuitable sites and create a list of prohibited words and phrases. It is similar, “said Greg Day, senior analyst at security software maker McAfee, film certification.” Do not let your child see a movie 18.
Blocking software checks so that your child can or can not download from the Internet. There are small applications, for example, which could control her son, the web cam. Day recommended blocking the program, along with an anti-virus software to ensure that the thing I’m not downloading anything wrong, lies. ”
Email filtering and blocking software allows you to censor certain types of content in your inbox of the child and to block spam or unknown addresses. Parents often want a sophisticated content blocking, which prevents giving their children things like your mobile phone number or address.
Social networking / instant messaging filtering works the same way that e-mail filtering. Again, some words or phrases to your child about the environment can be blocked.
Finally, there is a video filter that blocks inappropriate sites such as YouTube, on the basis of a descriptive text and the category labels of all the video in question.
Behind all this is some form of monitoring. The software generates reports on the types of sites your child has visited, and may be limits to the duration of your child can spend on the network. Instant email alerts to inform parents of any attempts to access objectionable.
These facilities, said Day, you can use to start a conversation with your children so they can understand why some activities can lead to problems. Should not be viewed as draconian.
But for some children, this control is a breach of trust. “I do not want to shoulder surf” you agree on. But, he says, they are doing something wrong or is injured, you need to have proof. “It’s a question of visibility.”
Beyond software, there are some basic settings, you can change the software on their PC. For example, some filtering tools in the latest operating system Windows PC and Apple Mac – Vista and OS X Leopard – including the time parameters, adjust the levels of the site and application blocking and use of logging. There should be options in the web browser you are using.
Similarly, search engines like Google provides search preferences security. Here, you can use the “strict filtering” option to exclude explicit text and images.
So with a combination of old and speaking high-tech software, it is perfectly possible for your child loose on the network without worrying about what they are up to.
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