Excerpted in part from Kids Online: Protecting Your Children
In Cyberspace
by Donna Rice Hughes (Revell, September 1998)
When it comes to the Internet, parents worry about pornography
and sexual predators. But when it comes to precautions, only half
of the parents surveyed by Family PC Magazine are taking advantage
of the commercially available filtering and monitoring software
that helps to protect children from the dark side of cyberspace.
Imagine your safety software tools to be your child's steering
wheel, brakes and seatbelt, while driving down the Information
Superhighway. Just as you would prepare your child for his or
her first driving experience, plan to teach your child the rules
of Internet travel and the reason for both safety rules and software
tools. One without the other is inefficient and will not adequately
protect your child from danger.
(See Internet Dangers)
As you examine the types of safety tools available in the market
today, keep in mind your own criteria for protecting your child.
Start a list of options that fit your family's needs and begin
to build your own digital toolbox.
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