A USA Today article that ran in July 2005 cited findings from a survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation. They found that during the school year, kids between the ages of 8 and 10 years old spent an average of 6 hours per day watching television, playing video games and/or using computers.

Since more than half of America’s 100 million households have Internet access, I can only assume that some of their computer time is spent in online activities. My question is how safe are these kids? Do they know what to look out for? Do they know how to handle themselves online?

Here are some topics to discuss with your children. Keep in mind that each family has their own rules for Internet use. Some parents don’t allow their children to be on the Internet at all, others will monitor their child’s Internet use, and still others have no concern and let their kids surf wherever and whenever they want.

Strangers.
The Internet is a wonderful place to meet people from all around the world. I remember having a pen pal when I was young and would check the mail every day to see if I got a letter. Now all one has to do is turn on the computer and check their Inbox! Friends who are separated by a move can still talk every day through email, chat rooms and Instant Messaging (IM).

The drawback to this is that no one knows who you really are on the Internet. Even in so-called “safe” chat rooms someone can be posing as a teenager and they are really a predator. Just as you wouldn’t want your kids to tell a stranger on the street where they live, you don’t want them to do so online either. Teach your children to never tell anyone online their names, addresses or other pertinent information.

If you decide to allow your children to use IM or chat rooms, monitor their activity. Set up their profile yourself and give as little information as possible. It may be helpful for you and your child to watch the short movie “Tracking Teresa” on the Kidsmartz.org website (http://www.netsmartz.org/resources/reallife.htm#realTeresa).

Commercialism.
Just like TV, there are lots of ads on the Internet. Unlike TV, we don’t get a break from them! They are everywhere! They show up as pop-up ads, banners, hover boxes, games and they are even disguised as articles or information items. They warn you that your computer is infected, you have new mail, you are the umpteenth-million visitor to this site or they may look like a survey or poll. And ads on sites geared for kids are often very inviting and intriguing.

Along with ads we also have adware. Microsoft defines adware as “Advertising that is integrated into software. Adware is often combined with a host application that is provided at no charge as long as the user agrees to accept the adware.” So a child could download a “free” game or screensaver that has adware attached to it. This adware will install itself on your computer, track all of your Internet activity and show you advertising in the form of annoying pop-ups or banner ads. If your kids are like mine, they don’t always read the fine print and just click on the “I accept” button to get their freebies!

Talk to your kids about Internet advertising and Adware. Let them know that they are the same as ads on TV. Someone just wants you to buy their new product. Take your kids to PBS’ Don’t Buy It! website (http://pbskids.org/dontbuyit/) for great information on Internet and other media advertising.

Inappropriate Content. The Internet is a great place to find information for any school science project or report. Just type in a phrase or topic in any search engine and you will get loads of links with useful information. But there are also many sites that contain inappropriate content under presumably innocent searches.

My friend was looking up information for her daughter’s animal report and typed in “horse lovers” in a search engine, figuring that she may get horse enthusiast sites dedicated to providing information on their favorite animal. She got sites with horses on them, but they were horse lovers of a COMPLETELY different kind… And not too long ago, there was a site at www.whitehouse.com that was of an adult nature. (The real White House site is at http://www.whitehouse.gov.)

The only way to be sure that your child does not inadvertently find themselves on the wrong site is to be with them and guide them in their searches. It is also helpful to use a search engine specifically designed for children such as http://www.yahooligans.com or http://www.askjeeveskids.com.

Regardless of how much or how little your kids are on the Internet, take a minute to talk with them about the benefits and dangers involved in being online. Let them explore some sites that will help them learn about Internet safety. Here are a few that are extremely helpful when teaching Internet Safety to kids:

Netsmartz.org – Teens -- http://www.netsmartz.org/netteens.htm
Netsmartzkids.org – Kids -- http://www.netsmartzkids.org/indexfl.htm
IKeepSafe.com (this site is specialized for each state) – http://www.IKeepSafe.com
Disney’s CyberNetiquette -- http://disney.go.com/cybersafety/

And remember – be involved in your children’s Internet activity. Teach them to use this powerful tool responsibly. It will save them time and you headaches as you travel the