Posts Tagged ‘Children’

I’ve just read an article saying that RuneScape isn’t safe for children to use:

http://gameolosophy.com/games/online/runescape/child-safety-on-runescape/

Please give me your views on the article as this is a really important issue for me as I have a child who plays on the game. I think that it does seem biased, but it makes some valid points…

I run a couple of sites and I get children that email me “Hi my name is Sara and I’m twelve” AUUUGG!!! I always give them a lecture about Internet safety but it really concerns me. I tell my friends that when they are comfortable letting their child walk downtown alone at midnight, then it’s Ok for them to go on the Internet.

Please explain to me why they are even on the Internet at all? Couldn’t you buy CDs for them? Why do they need to be on the Internet?

Review

“[S]hares the risks of the Internet by detailing recent, real-world tragedies and revealing some of the secrets of online activities. The book offers a comprehensive overview of the ways in which youth use such technologies and exposes the risks they represent.”–Library Media Connection;>“[A] thorough if occasionally geeked-out look at the technologies children are using and the steps parents must take to minimize their kids’ chances of having a bad experience online. Smith, the chief information officer for the World Wildlife Fund, shows the 5 million ways your kids can get around the basic barriers many parents set up. He advocates a more deliberate, comprehensive approach, including aggressively limiting your child’s Internet use: For middle schoolers, he recommends banning instant messaging, blocking search engines such as Google and denying access to free e-mail services such as Yahoo Mail. The amount of technical detail will liberate some and overwh (more…)

Im concerned for the safety of the young children that are put at risk and I see it too often not to do anything. Mothers driving with their babies not in any kind of safety seat.

My 8-year old son is in need of a good bicycle safety course, preferably online so we both can take it together.

As parents and teachers, we are all terrified by the very worrying statistics and facts that we come across every day regarding Internet predatory and child abductions. Many kids who have access to the Internet have been approached by Internet pedophiles at least once, not to mention the times when they have been exposed to unwanted pornographic material and information. Kids online safety is something that we should all worry about, especially given the monstrous consequences that their exposure to such information might have. We should all work together for kids’ online safety, even if something of the kind has not yet happened to anyone you know. Just imagine that the next kid you hear or read about in the paper could be your own, or your friends’ child, or your next-door neighbor, or one of your students. Kids are innocent and we should try to do anything we can to prevent their exposure to violent material or dangerous individuals. Student safety falls into the same category, because many children who were trying to do their homework using Internet material have been approached by Internet pedophiles, or have been requested to give personal information. And the worst thing about these unfortunate situations is that too many of them give out personal information about themselves and their families, and very few of these children inform their parents about what they have done, or of what has been asked of them to do.

Everyone should be concerned about the safety of all the children around us. Teachers should corroborate all efforts with respect to student safety, and above all, all parents should follow some basic rules that can lead to more effective kids online safety.

For instance, you should set up some strict rules for going online, and make sure that your kids respect them. Deciding the time of day and the length of time your kids can be online is not enough. You also have to select the appropriate Internet areas that your children can visit, and make sure they respect these restrictions.

You have to instruct your children and students not to give out any personal information, phone number, home address, school address, or the parents’ phone number from work. All these are confidential to strangers, and you should explain to them that breaking this rule could have very serious consequences. You can use the numerous examples that you have at your disposal, regarding children who have been abducted and were never found again.

It is also advisable that you try to build a close relationship with your children or students, and encourage them to tell you about any problems that they may be faced with, including whether they have come across any information that made them uncomfortable, or whether they have been asked to send pictures of themselves, or go to meetings with people they have met online.

Student safety and kids online safety are extremely important concerns, especially given the fact that pedophiles are becoming more and more aware of all types of techniques that they can employ in order to avoid being traced. If we all work together and try to follow some basic safety tips for our children and students when they go online, we can all contribute to their safety.

If you are looking for more information about kids online safety or student safety tips please visit this links.