Posted by David San José September 10, 2009
Look!
- Your children need a bit of peace to use the Internet. Let them shut themselves in their room to search for information online and don’t dare interrupt them, they are probably studying and you surely don’t want to disturb them, do you?
- Encourage your children to socialize with other people in chats, forums, social networks… but give them their space, you have nothing to fear, pedophiles don’t use technology…
- Don’t install Web filtering software, let them access everything without restrictions. You are no dictator and your children are responsible enough so as to know which pages they should visit and which they shouldn’t.
No, we haven’t gone crazy… but if on reading this you have realized what you sometimes do regarding how and when your children access information online, we have achieved our goal.
We are not suggesting total Internet restriction for children. In the same way you teach them how to study, manage their money, use the telephone, etc. you should also teach them this aspect.
Remember:
- The computer must be in the living room. The child should be accompanied by an adult that supervises the sites accessed every day.
- In the same way you know their friends, get to know their Internet contacts. Tell them not to give out personal details, banking details, etc.Â
- Keep your antivirus up-to-date and the parental control enabled with the restrictions you think appropriate for their age.
In previous posts you can see the information we have published regarding Children’s security on the Internet:
Tell us about your experience and if you would like us to focus on a specific subject.
David San José
Panda Security specializes in the development of endpoint security products and is part of the WatchGuard portfolio of IT security solutions. Initially focused on the development of antivirus software, the company has since expanded its line of business to advanced cyber-security services with technology for preventing cyber-crime.
3 comments
While I consider it my personal duty to safe-guard my (8 year old) sister from the potential dangers on the internet, I can’t watch her all the time. This is where web-filtering comes in handy, it really does help.
Also: I recommend setting up a parental account on msn, so you – as parent or guardian – can approve contacts and disallow others. You will be able to see every single contact your child has, before they appear on their lists. I don’t know if other chat services offer the same though.