The Wrong Part of Town

Risks that Kids Face Online
August 2009
by Kai Davis

That the internet is an unsafe place for children should come as no surprise to anyone. Child predators, cyberbullies, scam artists, and a motley assortment of thieves and scam artists have become common knowledge, publicized from the local paper to Oprah. With greater awareness, parents are learning to look for the signs that their child may be the victim of these threats. But a danger that is less dramatic and less discussed is the simple fact that the internet is full of adults, doing adult things. A child may come across any number of websites, posts, blogs, or advertisements which are very much child unfriendly, but not at all malicious.


A great deal this content on the internet would not even merit a second glance from an adult viewer. However, depending on your family and your children’s age, these stumbled upon items can be extremely child un-friendly.

Here are a few points to keep in mind when your youngster wants to hop on the net.

  • Automatic Virus Updates: There are always new threats emerging. To continue to keep you protected, your anti-virus solution must provide ongoing database updates.
  • Advertisements, depending on the site, can range from cheeky to explicit. Free email programs, for example, can have sidebar images pushing at the PG-13 boundary. Much of this can be resolved via ad-blocking software, but not all. Typically, questionable images can be avoided by keeping to kid-safe sites with kid-safe ads or no ads at all.
  • Comments left by other web users, even on fairly neutral and safe sites, are rarely a bastion of sensibility and clear thought. Most are moderated against swearing and hate-mongering, but always keep in mind that a comment board opens the gates to anyone with a keyboard and a temper.
  • Google image searches can be bring unexpected results, even with the most benign of search terms. Google provides a great way to limit this, with the ‘safe search’ feature, but it is not without flaws and gaps.
  • Try to place the computer in a shared, family area. This will ensure that no secret surfing goes on, and will allow you to easily supervise your children’s activities.
  • Learn about privacy settings. Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks have the potential to over-expose personal information and bring new dangers. However, they also have built-in privacy measures to counteract this. Facebook has recently revamped their privacy settings to simplify the process of restricting who can see your child’s profile and posts.
  • Consider implementing a parental controls program. ParetoLogic’s PGsurfer allows parents to set up separate profiles for each computer user, with options for time limits, blocking particular programs, blocking specific adult material, and blacklisting sites. Software with a wide-range of options allows children to learn and play on the internet without having innocent sites blocked, while still ensuring their safety.
  • Bookmark kid-safe sites. There are a variety of sites with kid-friendly material only, with specified age groups. Disney's Club Penguin, KidZui, and SafeSurfer are just a few web sites that promise a child friendly atmosphere, with games, info, and carefully moderated forums.

To ensure that your child’s internet experience is a safe and friendly one, remember that the internet is a microcosm of the outside world. Any dangers or inappropriate materials in the seediest parts of town can be equally reflected in every PC screen.