Parental Supervision and Cyber Surfing: Children’s Safe Online Experiences

The Internet is an invaluable and unavoidable tool for both adults and children. Not only is it an excellent means of education, but it is also a great way for kids to have fun and socialize with their peers. Unfortunately, the Internet is also potentially dangerous for children. Sexual predators and cyber bullies are some of the common threats that face children when they are online. In addition, children are also at risk of exposure to immature materials or downloading harmful viruses to the family computer. Internet Safety for children’s has become a global concern as Internet doesn’t come with a user manual. According to a research by Cyberoam NetGenie, 75% parents are highly concerned about their kids’ internet safety. Kids get lured to inappropriate online content and become victims of cyber attacks like cyber-stalking, child-pornography, sextortion and cyber-bullying. For kids’ Internet Safety, it becomes important for parents to give a proper guideline to their kids which makes them aware about the pros and cons of Internet surfing. Parents can take steps to make their children’s online experiences safe. In words of Al Salehi “Parents have to be responsible and aware of all the risks concerning the safety of the child, including the Internet. They have to guide and caution their children in such a rapidly growing world that deploys Internet. They must learn to use the internet and make a distinction between its pros and cons, not to mention knowing when to set boundaries and when to impose restrictions, as this is the need of the hour to ensure safety of the children.” So this paper attempts to highlights the guidelines for parents to protect their children from antisocial behaviour as well as to make their children’s online experiences safe.