Coastal Web Designs

Our policy for internet safety for our children

Internet Safety

1- Buy all the safety programs you need. Just as you protect

your home with locks and security systems you need to protect

your computer as well.

2- Set rules about online safety including family values.

3- Decide what information your child will make public online.

- Stay safe by connecting with only people that you or your family knows.

- Don't post anything in public places that can identify you or your family.

- Blogs, journals, job hunt sites, online ads, my space, face book,

ICQ, Yahoo and White Pages are all places where your

personal information is stored and anyone can see it.

example- Name, Location, Birth Date, Gender Email Address,

School Name, Photos, Cell Phone Number, Instant Messaging Id

4- Don't open emails from people you don't know. You can transmit

viruses and spyware to your computer.

5- Decide where to place your family computer. In a family room,

watch over your children when they use it or when using online

game consoles.

examples- X-Box, WII, IPhone, ITouch, Cell Phones

6- Never meet anyone from the internet.

If you do, make sure you take someone with you and the

meeting is in a public place. You never know who is on the other

end of the computer.

7- Find out where to report abuse and have an action plan in case you

need it.

Explain to your child what abuse is and that they should tell you

about anything that doesn't feel right or upsets them from

someone online.

8- Don't download freebies. Mostly they have spyware or viruses. And

some are illegal.

example-Music Sharing Software

9- Talk to your child's friends parents and make them aware of your

families rules about online safety.

10- Decide on your and your child's online ids. Pick ids that don't give away

your location or gender. Don't pick names that cause attention.

example- provocative or flirty names

11- Review your child's image files, downloads, blogs, online messenger

program buddies and all online contacts on a regular time frame.

They may not like it, but its your job as a parent to keep them safe.

Yearly Checkup

A yearly checkup to review current internet safety should be discussed each and every year. Each year as your child grows and becomes less dependant upon you the parents, the more time your child spends online. It maybe time to expand your child's privileges online. If so you will have to decide what changes will be made.

1- Start by reviewing your child's current privileges.

example- as your child grows you give them new levels of privileges which allows them to become more responsible.

2- Second go over the basics of them using the internet.

- Protect Themselves

- Respect Others Safety

- Act responsible by following the family rules.

3- Introduce conversation about new areas that the child is now going to

be allowed to start.

example- social networking- (my space, face book, or any type of networking that acts as a group or network. Which network will they be allowed to use?

What information is safe to give out on their page or blog. What privacy settings need to be in place?

4- Understand that IM is not a secure channel. Information is

readily available to be seen by the public.

5- Avoid giving away any information that could make your child a target.

example- showing their mood- flirty or saying they are out of town. Someone could in a instance go to your home by using the information that your child has provided, to rob your home while you are away. The safe way is to appear offline to the public.

6- Most teens or tweens don't personally know everyone on their buddy

list. If they don't Personally Know Them They are a Stranger.

7- Explain to your child why they shouldn't open a file, document, or picture

from someone they don't know. These items from a stranger generally

have spyware or a virus.

8- Talk to your child about what is inappropriate items to receive from someone else. Then have an action plan for the child to inform you so that you can handle it. Also if smaller children are in the area, have the child turn off the monitor or minimize the open window and come and get you. Don't shut the computer down, if a file is downloaded it could attach itself to your files.

9- Talk to your child about never meeting someone from the internet.

10- Remind your child to consider what they are saying in IMing. Because

it could be forwarded to many others.

11- Explain to your child what bullying is and that any bullying needs to be reported to you, for you to then report to your ISP ( Internet Service Provider) and Law Enforcement.

12- Online games have become an issue as well, as many are mature material and also have IMS and webcams and video interactions involved with strangers.

13- Set Guidelines as to age for services and some programs allow limits.

- Emails, Instant Messenger- Which email to use-

Free Services- Yahoo, MSN, G-Mail, AOL etc.. or with your internet provider.

Instant Messenger- There are many- Yahoo, MSN, AIM, and so on. IMs can be sent from cell phone to a computer as well or another cell phone. Also if they include their cell phone number in their profile then anyone who can see their profile can also see the number.

Applying caution and good sense along with a open conversation with your child will help develop young children into mature well rounded future adults. Use software to safely be a backup on the family rules and guidelines. And set consequences if guidelines and rules are broken. Just as well as giving rewards for following rules and guidelines. And remember be suspicious of information you see online it may or may not be true, just as the child your child is IMing may not be a child at all.

Warning Signs

1- Your child turns the monitor off quickly or changes the page when you come into the room.

2- Your child spends long time periods online (teens spend a lot of time

online so that's fairly normal)

3- Your child receives phone calls from people you don't know or adults are calling your child. The calls could be long distance calls.

4- You find pornography on your child's computer.

5- Your child is using an online account that belongs to someone else.

6- Your child receives mail, gifts or packages from a stranger.

7- Your child becomes withdrawn from your family.

What to do if you suspect something

1- Checkout what's on the computer and if you don't know how to do

this. Hire someone who does.

2- Talk to your child with a open conversation so that the child can open

up to you.

3- Monitor calls into and from your home. Have caller ID installed and block

anonymous calls.

4- Monitor all other services your child uses- cell phone, game consoles,

instant messages, email, chat rooms, blogs, and spaces.

5- Contact law enforcement if any of the following happen. -Anyone has received child pornography or porn images -Your child has been solicited or receives explicit images. Then follow what Law Enforcement says to do. And lastly please remember that everyone must be committed to protecting children. We the parents are their voice and by having rules and guidelines we are trying to protect, not take away their freedoms. It is our job to protect.

Age Based Guidelines

Up to Age 10 Supervise your child to make sure they are not exposed to

inappropriate material.

Ages 11-14 Supervise and start conversation with your child about safety

online. Use software to limit and report usage on the internet. Set guidelines

and rules. Start a internet contract with your child and renew it every year.

Ages 15-18 At this age most children are very savvy but still need parent

guidance. Use software to report usage on the internet and continue with

rules and guidelines.

What Protection?

There are software programs that can monitor your child's activity. We are

not trying to prevent your child from doing certain things but, keep you the

parent informed, so if you child strays, you the parent are aware and can help guide them back to the right path. There are many programs out there.

Two programs with the most services and controls are what Coastal Web Designs recommends.

Net Nanny- Younger Children

Cyber Patrol- Older Children

Cell Phone Protection- My Mobile Watch Dog

For More Information on Protecting our children please feel free to contact us and you can also visit the Dr. Phil Show on a recent program about child protection.

These programs can be purchased and Coastal Web Designs can install them for you and setup everything. We will sit down with you and show you how to use the software and answer all questions that you may have.

Exclusive property of Coastal Web Designs and may not be reproduced in any form without our written authorization. Privacy Policy: Coastal Web Designs All rights reserved. Privacy Policy: Coastal Web Designs values our customers and is committed to the protection of your privacy. Our website does not automatically capture any personal information identifiable to you, including your email address. The information that you do give to us is only used to process your order, and communicate with you about that order. We will never sell or rent your information to anyone ever!