



something that most of us grew up using, but they are a way of life for our children. They want to get online like everyone else, but we do have to consider the best ways to protect children online.
One aspect of protecting children online is deciding when they are old enough to be allowed on there in the first place. My daughter started getting online when she was very young, but it was only to certain websites that I pulled up on my own. These sites had children’s preschool games, and they were all that she could do. I was not too worried at that point because she couldn't read, but I do know there was a chance she could always see things I did not want her to see. For those under five, you can protect children online by only letting them to go on there if you are with them.
As kids get a little older, they are going to be going online at school. Schools are very good about keeping things safe, but talk with your child’s teacher if you are concerned about anything. They are going to want to search online to help with homework and to learn about things. To protect children online at this age, you have to be supervising them. You don’t have to be right over their shoulder, but you should be close by. Tell them that you have to help them if they are searching for something, as you want to be sure that the links are safe for them.
You can protect children online that are older by telling them that you have rules that they must follow. You can say what sites they are allowed to go to and from which ones they must stay away. If they have an e-mail account, instant messenger name, or a profile anywhere on the internet, you must have all current passwords and they should know that you are going to be checking up on them. If you don’t want them on any of those sites to protect children online, check the computer history so that you know they are following your rules. Check up on them by checking their accounts. It's much better to be nosy than to be sorry.
You can also find some great software that will help you protect children online. This is stuff that will block websites that you may not want them to visit. If they try to go to them, they are going to be blocked from doing so. You can set up an account just for them on your PC that only allows certain types of sites to come up as well. In order to protect children online, you have to take some precautionary measures, and you have to keep an eye on them.
Once upon a time, parents had to worry about how old their kids should be before they could cross the street by themselves, or when they were old enough to walk or ride a bike to school. Today, it seems that there are so many more things we have to think about when it comes to the safety of our children. Computers are not