Clay County Health Department
The Internet is valuable for information, entertainment, and communication. Most information found online is accurate and helpful, some information may be misleading, offensive or even dangerous. Education and parent involvement allow kids to benefit from technology while protecting them from danger. Parents need to set ground rules. Communicate with your children. Discuss what they are doing online and why. Agree on what is reasonable for each child, from the amount of time they can spend online each week/day, to which sites they can visit without permission. Set the rules and talk about them. Then keep them talking, since your child can earn more rights and responsibilities as they grow. If a child feels comfortable with these conversations, they will be more likely to let you know when they run into an online bully or stumbles upon inappropriate content. It is important that parents be a role model with their own internet habits, since your child is likely to emulate your behavior.
Let your children know that it is dangerous to reveal any personal information about themselves to anyone they meet online. This includes their name, where they live, their age, the school they attend, or where their parents work. Teach them to let you know if someone is asking for this information while they are online. One out of every five children gets sexual solicitations online. Strangers, predators, and cyber-bullies all target children. Their work is simplified when screen names reveal age, gender, and hometown. Also, tell your children it is never a good idea to share their user names, logins or passwords with friends or people they chat with online.
Do not allow your children to send any pictures of themselves to anyone online without your permission. Tell them never to get together with someone they meet online without your permission. Have your children agree never to post anything that is mean toward another person online. If someone sends your child a nasty message, tell them to let you know so you can report it. Keep the computer in a common room. When everyone can see the screen there is a better chance that children will follow the rules of online safety. This also applies to cell phone and tablet usage. Children who have Internet access in their bedrooms are more likely to come across inappropriate content online. Limit the amount the time they spend online. Permit them to use the internet only during allowed time.
Just as we want to know where our children are physically, who they are with and what they are doing, we need to know where they are going to on the Internet. When kids are first learning about the Internet, use the internet with them. Respectfully monitor online activity. Online activities are unrestricted and open for your review. Checking up on children online for their safety is very different from looking through their rooms for their private diaries. If you want to see if your children have online profiles, such as MySpace or Facebook, you can search the Internet by inserting your child’s name or their friend’s names, into a search engine like Google. If your children have online profiles, let them know you need to see them.
Check your computer’s history. This will tell you what websites were viewed recently. However, many children and adolescents know how to clear a browser history or delete records of certain websites. If the history is consistently empty, your computer may be set to automatically delete the history each time you exit out of the Internet. This is a feature you can easily disable. Check with your Internet provider to see what free filtering and monitoring options are available. Software can track how much time kids spend online, allow3 them to access the Internet during only certain time of the day when you know you will be home, and filter content so children aren’t accidentally exposed to inappropriate contest. Software programs can be a big help, but there is no substitute of adult supervision.
Music, television, magazines, and the Internet are all sending messages to your children. Balance these messages with what YOU want them to know about different issues. If your children tell you about something they found online that is a concern, DO NOT OVERREACT. By establishing clear expectations and guidance you are being a responsible parent. Information for this article was obtained from: http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources.
Family Planning/BCCSP clinic will be held Monday, February 24. Call for an appointment. There will be a food handler’s class February 5 at 12:00 pm. The fee is $10 and the card is valid for 2 years. If you have any questions, fell free to call 304-587-4269.