Breaking Free

June is Internet Safety Month. The US Senate has set June aside as Internet Safety Month for the past several years because of the growing awareness of online dangers. The best tool we have to prevent these dangers from influencing our children is good education.

Here’s a Top 10 list of some past blog posts I’ve written and other helpful links about Internet safety issues.

A Parent’s Guide to Internet Safety for Children – This is a quick checklist of measures a parent or guardian can do to make Internet viewing a safer experience for children.

Growing Up Online – This is the best documentary I’ve seen on the subject of youth culture and potential Internet dangers. It was done by PBS. You can see the whole thing online.

Cyberbullying: The New Playground – This is a post about cyberbullying and how to educate your teens about preventing it.

Myths and Realities of Online Predators – There are many misconceptions about Internet predators. Knowing the truth can refocus a parent’s or educator’s attention on how to rightly prepare their child to guard against predators.

New Video About Online Sexual Predators – Hands-down, this is the best video I’ve seen to warn parents and kids alike about sexual predators online.

Helping Parents Understand Social Networking and Internet Addiction – This post is about the growing problem of compulsive Internet use among teens. Included are some warning signs that your teen may be spending too much time on the Internet.

Is Filtering All There Is? – This post is about going beyond Internet filters for children and going to “Internet accountability” for the whole family.

Podcast: “The Face of Accountability” – This podcast was done specifically for teens who are struggling with the temptation to view pornography online.

Internet Accountability and Porn Addiction – This a guest post from a professional counselor with some of his thoughts about the wisdom of using accountability software for preventing and breaking free from Internet pornography addiction.

Netsmartz – This website is still the best I’ve found for educating parents and all ages of children about online dangers.