Internet safety for children has become an important consideration for parents of teens and tweens. As the Internet has evolved, so have threats targeting children. Although laws have been enacted around the world to protect children, it is up to each family to make sure they know what is happening when their children are online.

With that in mind, here are 10 tips you can implement to ensure the internet safety of children in your home. Get your kids to agree to these ground rules and you will go a long way in ensuring their safety online:

1. Never give your personal information online with the express permission of an adult. Addresses, phone numbers, work numbers are all ways your other details can be obtained.
2. If you come across websites or emails that are inappropriate or make you feel uncomfortable, tell your parents. By reporting these websites and emails to the authorities, you will help prevent the spread of this behavior.
3. Never agree to meet someone in person that you have met online without first discussing it with the parents. This is the most fundamental rule to ensure children’s Internet safety. It’s impossible to know for sure who you care about talking to online. If you do decide to meet up, do it in a very public place and make sure your mom or dad is with you.
4. It is very important that you do not send photos of yourself to people you meet online. There is no way you can know for sure who that person is unless you have met them personally.
5. There is a lot of bullying online. Never reply to rude or abusive emails or messages online. If the messages bother you or make you feel uncomfortable, tell your parents and they can follow up with the ISP or the police. Many children have suffered at the hands of cyberbullies. Do not be one of them.
6. Sit down with your children and set the rules for Internet and email access. It’s important to set the rules for what’s appropriate to view online and how to handle online situations. Parents need to know what children are doing online. There is even software that will block inappropriate websites and provide web history reports.
7. You must keep all passwords to yourself. It’s amazing how a hacker can use a single password to access so much of your information and wreak havoc in your life. Just don’t do it. This is one of the best ways to ensure the safety of children on the Internet. Also make sure that parents have their Internet account passwords.
8. Do not download software without using the proper antivirus programs and obtaining parental permission first. It’s easy to compromise the data on your computer by inadvertently installing malicious software.
9. Make sure kids don’t behave illegally online or hurt other people online. Children’s Internet safety is everyone’s responsibility.
10. Kids can usually learn things online pretty quickly. Spend time with your children online and you will learn a lot. Ignorance is not a defense. If you don’t know what your kids are doing online, then you’re not being a good parent.

These tips will help ensure children’s internet safety online; not just yours, but potentially someone else’s child could be spared from becoming a victim of online crime.