10 Tips on How to Protect Your Children on the Internet

Protecting your children against Internet dangers often seems like a daunting challenge based on the number of predators and scammers who roam the Internet. Keeping children safe on the Internet requires both technical and nontechnical methods. It is important as a parent to remain diligent. The following checklist can help lead to greater Internet safety for your children:

1. Supervise the use of all Internet enabled devices. This includes PCs, tablets, smartphones, music devices and games.
2. Check the online communities that your children visit or use, such as chat rooms, social media accounts and their email.
3. Have a real dialogue about the benefits and dangers inherent when using the Internet.
4. Advise your children on appropriate postings for social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and discourage sharing personal information.
5. Review privacy settings available on social media sites.
6. Do not allow young children to have their own email and social media accounts.
7. Maintain logins and passwords for your children’s accounts and monitor usage.
8. Use software content filtering tools to monitor and restrict access to inappropriate websites.
9. Maintain the administrative password of home PCs and restrict your children’s ability to load software.
10. Be cognizant of any change in your child’s behavior.