Social networking is the way of the world. Children want to connect with their friends out of school by using facebook, twitter, MSN etc and there is some pressure on them to be doing what their friends are all doing. How, as a parent can we feel comfortable with our pre-teen interacting in this way? How do we protect them from cyber-bullies and predators?
1. We can set our children with private profiles so that they can talk to their friends in a closed environment.
2. We can monitor what they're doing online by checking the history on the computer.
3. We can put the home computer in a central part of the house so that everyone has access to it and the screen is visible to all and not allow any screen that has internet connection in bedrooms.
4. Teach them what is appropriate language to use and the amount of information to give out when you don't know who the audience is.
What other limitations do you set when your child is using socially interactive games and websites? How do you ensure the safety of your child when friending options are limitless?