|
Protect children from sexually explicit materials.
Suggestions for parents who would like to prevent their children from access to
erotic Web pages.
In reality the only way to fully protect your child from erotic materials on the
Internet or in other media is to monitor all of their use which is obviously not
possible. The best way is to prepare the child for situations when he/she finds
erotic materials and to teach him/her to take an action appropriate to his/her
age.
If you consider it useful to bar your child from access to erotic materials on
the Internet, you have two options:
You can take adventage of one of the services which create a list of pages with
unsuitable content and bar access to these pages.
For example:
One of the Czech accessible products is Websense. However the list of forbidden
pages used by these services can be incomplete, or on the other hand they may
also contain pages which could be considered unobjectionable (by some parents).
You can bar access to the pages with unhealthy content using the most common Web
browser, Microsoft Internet Explorer, in its latest versions.
- in Tools menu you choose Internet Options
- under Content is a section, Content Adviser
- by clicking on Enable you can set up what can be viewed and what can not be
viewed
Setting a password in order to bar the access to forbidden pages is commonplace.
The protection of a child using the Internet
The Internet is a unique source of information. It enables the user to read the
newspaper, to find information about government institutions or just to play
games. The Internet is also a perfect medium of communication. People from
opposite ends of the world can keep in touch through chat rooms or e-mail, or on
the other hand, they can find new friends with the same interests. The use of
the Internet by a child is benefical for his/her development, providing it is
combined with other activities. The majority of users on the Internet follow
moral guidelines. The subject matter that can insult, frustrate or hurt other
people, as well as users who do so on purpose occure as much on the Internet as
in other spheres of human society. But it is not a reason to keep the children
off the Internet. There is never a hundred percent guarantee that the child will
not see or hear something he/she is not supposed to see or hear. But there are
some simple rules to reduce the probability it will happen.
The risks on the Internet
There is the basic risk that children can encounter inappropriate content
comprised of sexual material, material containing violence or material inciting
them to dangerous or illegal activities. Another risk is that a child could
reveal personal information or arrange a meeting which could endanger his/her or
his/her family’s security. A child may reveal a parent’s credit card number if
he/she is unaware of proper ways to shop on the Internet; or a child may injure
others by inappropriate behavior if unaware of fundamental etiquette.
How the parents can reduce the risk on the Internet?
Indeed the children need their privacy, nevertheless the parent’s care is
necessary for the children’s healthy development. Basically the parentage does
not differ on the Internet from its offline form.
If the parent has a reason to assume the child’s using the Internet
inappropriately, he/she should have a talk with the child. A parent can also ask
for advice on how to use the Internet properly from a teacher, a psychologist,
or employees of Internet companies. The base of communication between child and
parent is frankness. If the child informs his/her parents he has encountered
unpleasant matter or an unpleasant person who tried to get private information,
the solution is not to punish the child or even to bar him/her from using the
Internet but to give him/her advice how to avoid similar experiences in the
future. The parent should be aware of the fact that his/her behavior in such a
situation determines if the child will confide in the parents again in the
future. The child can visit the page with an inappropriate content accidently.
This kind of risk can be reduced by the means of the Web browser or by the
special programs containing permanently updated lists of unsuitable pages (for
example Cybersitter on the address
www.cybersitter.com ). The programs are free of charge. Some of the
online services are designed for the children and there is no fear children
would encounter an inappropriate content within these pages. Parents can use for
example the Kamaradi server ( www.kamaradi.cz
) or Modra planeta server (
www.modraplaneta.cz ).
Family rules for use of the Internet.
Do you want the Internet to be helpful and not a threat? Then adhere to the
following rules:
1) Do not give private information: name, address, school in chat rooms. Before
you e-mail such information make sure the recepient is trusted by you and your
children.
2) Ask your child about the services he/she is using. You will learn about the
content he/she is viewing and you will learn more about the Internet.
3) Ask your child to get your permission if he/she wants to meet with someone
who he/she met through the Internet. Make yourself sure the meeting will take
place on a safe place and accompany your child.
4) Never answer messages in chat rooms or e-mails which are offensive, of a
sexual nature or containing a threat. The children should not click on the cross-indexes
in e-mails from an unknown sender.
5) Be aware that the manner in which an Internet user presents himself may not
correspond to reality.
6) The computer should be available in a room open to the whole family – in a
dinning room or a living room, not in a child’s bedroom. Get interested in your
children’s Internet friends as much as you are interested in their friends at
school.
Children’s Internet Ten Commandments
1) I do not give my address, the name of my school, the addresses of my parent’s
working places, my home phone numbers or my parent’s phone numbers.
2) When I find something unpleasant I will tell my mother or father.
3) I will never meet somebody who I know through the Internet, I will arrange
the meeting in a public place and I will ask one of my parents to accompany me.
4) I will never send a picture of me in an e-mail without my parents approval.
5) I will never reply to an e-mail which is mean or offensive.
6) It is not my fault if I receive an offensive e-mail. When it happens I will
inform my parents.
7) I will arrange rules for use of the Internet with my parents and I will
follow the rules.
8) I will agree with my parents how often and how long I can use the Internet.
9) I will not visit places through the Internet which are forbidden by my
parents.
|
Searching
