Keeping Children Safe on the Internet
March 2009 Pointe Innovation Magazine Column by Heath Hall

The internet has obviously been one of the most important tools ever devised. It has changed our lives in so many ways that I couldn’t even begin to list all of them. We can now Google everything from diseases to driving directions. It is the tool that has changed our economy. It is quick and easy to use. It helps us communicate, bank, shop and visit with people all over the world. It has shrunk the miles between my house and yours.

However, with five children at home, I often wonder what impact the internet has on them. Is it good? Is it bad? Is it safe? What is the best way for my wife and me to monitor our children’s use? Should our children be allowed to have a computer in their bedrooms?

Well, since our oldest child is 14 and our youngest is seven, we have learned a great deal about kids’ internet use over the past few months. There has also been a ton of research done on this very issue.

According to Ian Douglas, with the Telegraph, teenagers spend an average of 31 hours per week online. One in three admits to covering up what they are doing when their parents come in, and one in four says they regularly talk to strangers. And, reportedly about an hour is devoted to looking at inappropriate content.

Douglas goes on to explain, that nine of the 31 hours are spent chatting to friends or visiting social networking sites, two more on socializing in virtual worlds. More than three hours goes into research for homework and another three are spent looking for answers to teenage-type questions.

It may be tempting to go into your living room or your child’s bedroom to untangle the endless electrical wires and trash your child’s computer, but keep in mind that adults spend an average of 28 hours weekly watching television. At least our children are using some of their time on the internet for research.

Parents concerned about their children’s digital life peaks when their children are between ages 14-16. So, as I began researching this issue I wasn’t surprised to learn that thousands of other parents are also looking for ways to keep their children safe online.

Douglas presents several online safety suggestions for parents:

· Talk openly with your children. It is important to let them know your goal is to protect them, not prevent them from using the internet.

· Make sure you are the administrator on the computer and create another user account for your children, which you control.

· Put a filter on what your children can access online and what sites they can visit.

· Learn what your children are learning. For example, my oldest son recently established a Facebook account. So, my wife and I did the same.

· Keep your child’s computer in an open common area in your home.

· Routinely check the sites your children are visiting.

· Know who to contact to report abuse that may happen on the internet. Your local police department can be your first step.

I love the internet! It is at the root of so much of what I do professionally and personally. However, like you, I work to keep my children safe when they are online. I look at my approach to the internet the same way I look at letting my children walk through our neighborhood to visit their friends. I simply explain the rules, the consequences of breaking those rules and what they should do in the event that danger presents itself. I push myself to allow them some freedom, but I stay involved and attempt to know where they are in our neighborhood – the same thing applies with the internet.

As always, please contact me with story ideas or comments. Thank you for reading Pointe Innovation Magazine. It will be our pleasure to bring you PIM quarterly again this year.

 

  

 

     
 

 

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