Summer Safety Series: Internet Safety for Kids

With all the stories of dangerous situations involving missing
children and the internet, it is imperative to establish safety precautions
with your own children. Be proactive and talk with your children about stranger
danger. The National
Center for Missing and Exploited Children has a very comprehensive guide on
things to discuss with your children. It includes the risks of surfing the web,
connecting on social networking sites, using e-mail, instant messaging,
cellphones and texting, posting videos and photos online, and online gaming.

Popular pre-teen sites include Club Penguin & Woozworld,
which do not allow the transfer of phone numbers and have online reporting of inappropriate
language to monitor the language being used.  Be aware that children are
resourceful and often use corresponding letters to give out phone numbers. Remind
your children that not everyone online are who they say they are. It is very
easy to create false profiles on social networking sites or even impersonate someone
that they might know. Do not leave things up to chance or assume that your
children know better.

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