Internet Safety

Ugh. So my daughter, who previously had been content on sites like Webkins, Disney and Noggin, has now discovered the world of YouTube and music videos of her favorite singers (Selena Gomez, Hannah Montana / Miley Cyrus). We monitor her usage as carefully as possible. She knows not to talk to strangers, even online. We keep her computer next to ours so we’re aware of what she’s doing and where she’s going. And of course, we’ve discussed with her the various dangers and levels of appropriate content we’re comfortable with. But I know this is just the start of a whole world of issues.

I probably walk more on the dangerous side anyway by including pictures of my kids even in the header of this site, but when I made the blog public again, I toyed with the idea of using pseudo-names but I just couldn’t keep that going. It’s not natural for me and just wasn’t going to work. I don’t expect to blog about the details of their lives to the extent that I used to. And you will probably not find many pictures of them other than the ones at top. It’s a fine line.

In any case, what steps do you take with your kids to ensure their safety online? Do you let them have access to YouTube? Where do you draw the line?