What’s your child doing online?

What’s your child doing online? - Haven't we heard many stories of kids getting into trouble because of their activities on the inter net.

There have been many cases where youngster have been stalked or become victim of identity thefts or even worse have their accounts hacked into. Parents often feel helpless as they can do little to monitor what their child in doing online. Often parents see internet as a good pastime, but they don't realise how much of an addiction can it prove to be for their child. You child probably feels that he/she can handle whatever happens online. However, few realise that information that's once shared on cyber space can never be taken back.

While your child may be good at handling and dealing with people in school or college, the same may not hold true for the cyber world. The fact that they aren't face-to-face with a person makes them a bit careless about the information that they are giving out not just about them, but also other family members. From sharing family photos to giving out their address and phone numbers kids tend to get into situations that they haven't dealt with before.

However, it's impractical to expect that you can keep you child away from the cyber world by banning him/her from logging on. There are always other means like the many cyber cafes sprinkled across the city that kids have access to. So the best thing to do is make your child aware of the trouble that he/she may get into, and ways to avoid any ugly situations. Here's a few pointers that will help your child have a great time in the cyber world.

Keep an eye: Try and get a bit tech-savvy yourself. There are options where you can check the history to get to know the websites that your child has surfed. Keep an eye on them.

Privacy issues: Tell you child that personal information should be kept personal. Things like your address, phone number or financial details like bank and credit card details should not be shared with anyone who asks for it online. Remind youngsters repeatedly that they may cause sever harm my giving out vital information in a bid to make friends with some guy/girl online.

Keep it short: Even if you do get friendly with someone one make sure that the topic of discussion is nothing that's very personal. Don't share things like your your user name. It could be dangerous for anyone to give away his/her name, gender, age, or hometown in their user name.

See what you post: See what you post: Kids need to be aware that the comments they make or the pics they post can be see by people who may not be on their friends list. So to avoid getting into ugly situations it's best to not post inappropriate photos or make nasty comments.

No 'Take Backs': Once information is posted online, even if it's later deleted or modified, the original will never be completely deleted. It would do your child good to remember this.
Don't talk to strangers: This is something you probably taught your child in school. it's time you repeat the same when they get online. Tell them to be careful before adding anyone to their chat list — people are not always who they say they are.

Online lies: Sometimes kids get so engrossed in the tales that other have to tell that they don't even realise the trouble they are getting into. Tell your kid about the dangers of flirting with strangers online. People can easily lie about their identity while they are online and it is impossible to verify their true identity.

Don't scold your kid: Tell your child if he/she feels threatened by someone or something online, he/she needs to tell a parent or another trusted adult who will know how to deal with the incident. ( indiatimes.com )