Child Internet Safety
Home >> Child Internet Safety
SKYWIFI is deeply committed to keeping kids safe. We work closely with each client to educate parents about the dangers of the Internet, they didn't know existed.
If you have a child who is using a computer, then this page is for you.
Many parents are misinformed by their children about comptuer access in order to hide their activity. There are so many dangers that kids do not know about.
Ensure that the computers at school, the library, and at friend's houses have proper safeguards. Unless you are computer educated, even after implementing these safeguards, you as the parent(s) most importantly must become computer literate so you can monitor and protect your child(ren). Parents need to take an active role in protecting them from sexual exploitation, sexual predators, adults-only content, pornography, and other harmful content that is available online.
Direct your children to sites where they can learn and share common interests with peers, and roam safely under your supervision.
The Internet is a wonderful educational tool for kids. But it can also be fraught with dangers -- deviants who use the Internet to prey upon our children. Just last year, a 13-year-old girl in Kenton County was stalked by a man from Texas whom she met on the Internet.
Don't think for a second that it can't or won't happen to your child? Please read the following stories below.
Sexual exploitation is the number one motive for non - family abductions. "Sex offenders who prey on children are the most dangerous criminals facing America today," says Ernest E. Allen, President of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Arlington, Virginia.
Research and experience demonstrate that sex offenders who prey on children:
--Victimize large numbers of children
--Are serial offenders
--Are dangerous and often violent
--Seek legitimate access to children
--Are rarely apprehended and rarely convicted for the most serious charges
Incidents like these have motivated people to sponsor the Protection from Online Predators Exploitation Act to crack down on adults who use the Internet to prey on children or trade in child pornography. Each day, the number of pedophiles who use the Internet to lure young children is growing. And their reach is growing exponentially, with child pornography chat rooms already in the thousands. It is a federal crime to meet kids in online chat rooms or elsewhere on the Internet for the purpose of engaging in illegal sexual acts. However, recent reports suggest the cyber stalking law has no teeth, because some judges are handing down weak sentences with little or no jail time. Although a crime like child pornography carries a minimum sentence of five years, there is no minimum sentence for cyber stalking.
Protecting Kids from Online Porn
The Internet should be a safe haven for our children to play and study, not a nightmare. The law requires commercial web sites that sell adult materials to determine the age of customers using age verification registries, credit card numbers, or other means. It holds online sellers responsible for age verification, just like bookstores and newsstands. Unfortunately even after these safeguards have been put into place, it does not protect children from being sent inappropriate material and or accidentally surfing across some website of pornographic content. It is important for children to have access and enjoy the educational development tools on the Internet without fear of exposure to dangerous and inappropriate material.
One of the Internet's greatest attractions for children, especially teens, is it's interactivity. Making friends all over the world is exciting and a wonderful use of the Internet. Keep in mind, however, that "chat mates" are not always who they claim to be. The anonymity of online correspondence makes it easy for people to misrepresent themselves.
-
Make sure your children always use a nickname and don't reveal personal information online until you are sure of the identity of the recipient. If your children have passwords they use on the Internet, make sure they never reveal them to anyone.
-
Consider using " filtering" software which can block access to newsgroups containing objectionable words or phrases.
-
If your children receive an offensive message or junk email, send copies (including the sender's email address to your service provider).
-
Parental involvement is the key to safe surfing, so keep your computer in a well-used area. Even when you can't be right beside your children, you will still be able to keep an eye on their online activities
Just as children should not talk to strangers as they walk our community’s streets, they should avoid strangers on the Internet.
We must all join together in this battle - parents, teachers, and especially young people - to protect ourselves against Internet predators. I recommend the following guidelines for young Internet users: Teach children not to:
-
NEVER Give out their real name, address, or any other personal information to a stranger on the Internet.
-
NEVER Agree to meet someone they met from the Internet.
-
NEVER Respond to threatening or inappropriate communication, but rather tell an adult.
Parents should watch out for signs that their children might be at risk, like when kids spend excessive amounts of time online (especially at night), evidence of pornography, or unfamiliar long distance calls and charges.
SKYWIFI strongly recommends parents use a firewall, parental controls and setup a user account without administrator privileges on the computer so your child(ren), cannot go into the computer and temporarily disable the safe guards you have put into place. Contact us to Child/Teen Proof your computer
