KidCareKit

Power Parent Report Monday, December 18th 2006

'Cyberspace,' the 'Web,' the 'Net,' the 'Information Highway'"

MySpace Study
www.weau.com/home/headlines/4950427.html
About how much personal information teens are putting on their myspace pages.
40% of teens page is set to private, so only friends can see it.
1% include things like e-mail addresses or phone numbers.
80% had the name of the city they live in
30% include the name of their school

This means that kids are accidentally putting a lot of their information online.  You need to teach your child what should and shouldn't be made public. 

Parents offered tips to keep Internet safe
By RICH ADAMS
www.cheboygannews.com/articles/2006/12/18/news/news2.txt
Prevention and awareness are most important
*put home computer in a common area
*make rules for internet, times, websites, etc...can create bookmarks/favorites for children and only allow them to go to those sites
*teach your child to never give out personal information like:  address, phone number, e-mail address, passwords, credit card information, school information, and pictures.
*create a family email address and monitor it
*know your child's online friends like their offline friends, your child should never meet them face to face
*remind your children that people on the internet may not be who they seem

Military Families Honored With Free Internet Safety Software That Protects Their Children
www.prweb.com/releases/2006/8/prweb428134.htm
Children’s Educational Network is giving away free software to Military families.
The software is called TUKI and it is being peddled through the Military.  Hey a free give away is free publicity, especially if it involves publicity.  I tried to look at the demo but the site wasn’t working, but from what I researched, it is just an internet explorer add-on that blocks bad websites.  I’m sure it works a little but things always slip through the cracks.  It is more important to have a child that doesn’t want to go to the adult sites then to rely on some software to do the job for you.

by Adam J. Richter M.S. of KidCareKit.com