Never before has it been easier for your children to view unwanted material online. In this age of information and digital access, innocent children have become targets of sexual predators, pornography and cyberbullying. You want to protect your children as much as possible, but there are times when you can't be around to watch what your children do online. In those situations you want some parameters in place to keep your children safe. While it is sometimes difficult as parents to know what you can do to protect you and your family from harmful and suspicious people and websites, there are simple steps you can take to keep your children safe when they're online.
Step 1
Talk with your children about the dangers of the Internet. The first line of defense in protecting and monitoring your children is knowledge. Sit down and have an open conversation about the dangers of sexual predators, pornography and other damaging material that can be found online. If your children know how easy it is to find harmful material, they will have their guard up and be ready for suspicious activity if it occurs.
Step 2
Set up filters in your current web browser. Depending on what version or type of web browser you have, you should have the ability to customize the settings on your web browser. For example, in the popular web browser, Internet Explorer 7, you can customize the setting on what type of sites it allows.
To do this go to "Tools" in the menu bar, then "Internet Options". Click on the "Security" tab and move the security level to "high". This will disable anyone from visiting potentially harmful websites.
Step 3
Install software to protect and monitor your children. K9 Web Protection is an online software program that can be downloaded for free. It can be used to protect and monitor Internet activity from a computer. You must register with a name and email address to download the free software. Once downloaded you can set up a secure password so no one can bypass the software from blocking unwanted websites.
Step 4
Monitor previous Internet activity. Most web browsers have a tab or section labeled "History." Usually this tab is at the top of the browser. You can click on this tab and see which sites your children have been visiting. Unless they know how to delete the browsing history, this information will be stored by the browser.
Tips and Warnings
- Put the computer that your children use in an open room where you can see it. If you can look over their shoulder at any time, they are less likely to visit inappropriate websites.
- If you suspect someone is targeting your child online, call the police or FBI. Child predators are very real and dangerous.
