From the ArcaMax Publishing, Parents Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/parents/s-6471-951340
The Internet can be a helpful tool for your family. You can keep in
touch with relatives and send pictures of your children to their
grandparents. You can check the weather, movie times and even balance
your checkbook. Your children can gather research for school papers,
utilize homework helps, play educational games and communicate with
friends.
However, the Internet also poses many dangers. Your children might
encounter online pornography or even pedophiles. They might stumble on
a site that teaches them to make bombs or use weapons. Just like
anything else in media, the good comes with the bad.
In the book, Learn to Discern, Bob DeMoss addresses some practical
measures that parents can take to help protect their children.
First, be sure to keep all computers with Internet access in a common
area of your house, not in your children's bedrooms. Parents need to
be able to supervise what their children are doing online.
Second, set clear guidelines on the amount of time your children are
allowed to spend online. Parents may consider extending the time if
the children are researching material for a school project. However,
for entertainment purposes, be clear on how much time you will permit.
Be honest with your children about the dangers of the Internet. Help
them understand that some people they may meet online are not who they
claim to be. Instead of a young teenager, they may actually be an
adult man. Also, because most of our communication in person comes
from non-verbal clues, communicating online makes it more difficult to
determine if someone is being sincere or truthful.
Make use of technology. Many of the companies that provide Internet
service offer free parental controls that allow parents to block
certain types of websites or e-mails from their computer. And there
are software companies which sell products to filter out much of the
negative content of the Internet.
DeMoss also encourages parents to monitor phone and Internet bills for
unknown phone charges to make sure that children aren't accessing
pornography sites.
Finally, whenever possible, sit with your children when they are
online. Parental supervision is key to helping them make wise
decisions on where they go online.
This article was based on the book, Learn to Discern, by Bob DeMoss.
Want more great information on how you can keep your family safe
online? Be sure to check out Family First's Internet guide for
parents: How to Protect Your Child Online (Click here). It's FREE and available to read online
or download as a .pdf. Click here for this great resource.
-- This article was provided courtesy of Family First.net (Click
here).