Tip #25: Make Sure Your Child is Practicing Computer Safety

With children and teens spending so much time socializing on the Internet, taking pictures with their cell phones, and communicating with strangers from around the world, parents must be sure their child is practicing computer safety. There are predators and scam artist waiting to take advantage of anyone they can. This brings us to tip #25.

Tip #25: Make sure your child is practicing computer safety.

So many times parents and children are unaware of the dangers that are on the social networks. We have face book, tweeter, my space, and emails. The sad thing is that a lot of children (and sadly some adults) unknowingly or stupidly put personal information up on the world-wide-web for all the world to see.

When a friend or boy/girlfriend become angry, they will post private pictures, information, or insults about the person they are angry with. You need to make your child aware of keeping all personal and private matters off of the Internet. You must sit down and explain the dangers and set the boundaries. Let your child know that you will be checking their accounts to see that all rules are being followed. Also, put a block on any sites you don’t want your child or teen to have access to.

Below are some of the dangers you need to discuss with your child:

1. Talking to strangers that very well could be child predators.

2. Giving locations of where they live or where they will be.

3. Taking private pictures of themselves and sending them to boy/girlfriends.

4. Letting your child know that colleges and future employers will go on social networks before they accept applications for admission or job interviews.

5. Employers will also look at social pages to consider promotions.

6. If someone is bullying or using these networks in a negative way about your child, it is harassment. They must let you know so you can contact the school so it can be stopped.

7. If there is anything or anyone that makes your child uncomfortable, he/she must come off of the site and let you know immediately what happened.

8. Your child should never make arrangements for meeting someone they met on the Internet.

9. Anything put on the world-wide-web is there forever!!!!! That is extremely serious.

10.That you have a right and will be checking all text, emails, social accounts, and site visited. You must seriously keep an eye on your child's computer usage.