kids and internet safety annoys me

I have been so annoyed and upset with the internet's technology. However there is no way to escape from it if you have kids around. In this day and age, it is impossible to keep kids away from the internet. Now I have to try to survive by living with it. If they don't surf at home, they will in school, at the library, at a friend's house. And the internet can be a valuable resource, supplying access to different cultures, opinions, creativity. Many schools are even using it as a means to dissemanate homework assignments and require it for research.But as I'm sure we all know, when you use the internet, you are exposing yourself and your history to anyone else online. The internet community is as public as a billboard or a television show. With this understanding, we as adults are very careful about what information we allow ourselves online. Kids may not understand this. That is why it is very important to educate them early and develop good habits on internet safety and etiquette. The internet is a fantastic source of information and can be great for kids if used in the right way. With sensible precautions your kids can make the most of it, in a safe environment. It’s a good idea to follow a simple set of guidelines 1) Keep the computer in a public room – not hidden away in kids bedrooms. That way you can see what they’re doing. 2) Install an internet content filter such as ContentProtect. This can help you prevent your children from coming into contact with inappropriate content. 3) Set up a separate login for your children (or one for each), configuring security settings for your content filter for each login so it is appropriate to their age. 4) Talk to your kids about the risks and dangers online. Make them aware of how to stay safe online. Adolescents may need more guidance than younger kids. (Again from the FBI guidelines) Children, especially adolescents, are sometimes interested in and curious about sexuality and sexually explicit material. They may be moving away from the total control of parents and seeking to establish new relationships outside their family. Because they may be curious, children/adolescents sometimes use their on-line access to actively seek out such materials and individuals. Sex offenders targeting children will use and exploit these characteristics and needs. Some adolescent children may also be attracted to and lured by on-line offenders closer to their age who, although not technically child molesters, may be dangerous. Nevertheless, they have been seduced and manipulated by a clever offender and do not fully understand or recognize the potential danger of these contacts. Talk to your child about online dangers.There are people who try to take advantage of the naivete of very young children and the curiosity and restlessness of older kids. Some of these people are after personal information so that they can use your identity for their own purposes. Some of them are sexual predators with more sinister intentions. They may gradually win the child over with friendliness and gifts, spending large amounts of time online with your child. They may seem like a kid themselves, being up on all the latest music, fashions and trends. They may not begin to gradually introduce sexual content into their conversations until a long time has passed and your or your child's guard is down. On the other hand, they may introduce sexually expicit conversation and ideas right away. Some predators collect and trade child pornography while others will try to arrange a meeting with your child. From the FBI information sheet: "It is important for parents to understand that children can be indirectly victimized through conversation, i.e. "chat," as well as the transfer of sexually explicit information and material. Computer-sex offenders may also be evaluating children they come in contact with on-line for future face-to-face contact and direct victimization. Parents and children should remember that a computer-sex offender can be any age or sex the person does not have to fit the caricature of a dirty, unkempt, older man wearing a raincoat to be someone who could harm a child." Make sure your children understand these basic rules of thumb: Never arrange a meeting with someone they meet on-line Never post pictures of themselves to people they do not know or in a place with public access Never give out their personal information like names, address, phone number, school, birthday Never download pictures from an unknown source - they may contain objectionable materials or viruses Never respond to harrassing or suggestive messages or postings Things you hear on-line may not be true http://safekids.com/safe-blogging-tips/ http://safekids.com/kids-rules-for-online-safety/ http://safekids.com/your-familys-privacy/ What I can do now is learning and researching more on the internet to get into more about the pros and cons of the net and communicate to find out more if there are better way to cope with kid's growing process. Yuan