Internet Safety for Kids

Do you watch what your kids are doing while they are surfing?

A couple of my kids are fairly young, so I didn't think I needed to.  Boy, was I wrong.  One of my sons' teachers told me that, today, if you're not keeping tabs on what young kids are doing on the internet, someone else (someone on the internet) is teaching them some things you may not want them to learn at their age.

I went to a neighborhood watch meeting a while back.  It was led by the sheriff in our town. He had several internet gurus with him.  The stats that they gave about predators on the net were astounding to me.  The sheriff's department actually has a team of people just dedicated to trying to catch sexual offenders that seek out young people on the internet.

They recommended that, as a parent, you keep the computers that kids might use in a public place in the home so that you can keep an eye on what the kids are looking up.  Also, they recommended that parents talk with their kids about NOT joining chat rooms and social sites that enable them to connect with people they don't know on the internet.  There's no reason why young kids should be "meeting" people online.

They also recommended having conversations with the kids about what information is okay to give out online, and what information is NOT okay to ever give out.

One of the most important things that they recommended is some internet safety software.  There is quite a variety of software programs available today that will provide an extra layer of protection for your kids.  Do research to find one that provides the features that you think are important.

Internet safety with kids is important.  It might be "out of sight, out of mind," but it should be something you're mindful about and, as proactive parents, it is good to be cautious and preventive.

For more on internet safety, see my pages on Child Safety on the Internet, Social Networking Safety, Cyberbullying, and information on how you can look up the sexual offenders list in your area.

Product Recalls

So I found out the other day that my youngest child's crib has been recalled.  It was kind of by accident that I found out, and I usually pay close attention to information about baby product recalls!  So this got me thinking about people who don't frequently write a parenting blog and might have recalls even further back in their minds than I do. 

How do others find out about recalls of products that they're using?

A lot of times, it might be on the news, listed on some websites, or might be a topic of discussion by mothers who've taken their kids to a playground.  Other than that, the only really solid way of knowing if a product you are using is still considered to be safe for the general public is to seek out information from the CPSC (if you're in the States.  If you're reading this from another country, find out the governing body that regulates recalls.)

The most recent and most news-worthy recalls are often published on parenting sites.  But there are also a few places you can go to keep up-to-date on a regular basis.  The CPSC has a site that will list all of the most recent recalls.  If you're interested in previewing recalls of items that might be purchased for a baby, you can find their widget detailing recent recalls on my Baby Products Recalls  page.  It's there because it just makes it easier to find out specifics on recalls having to do with products for kids.

If you have a question about a specific item that you've purchased and think that it might have been recalled, you can visit my general page on product recalls.  Here, you can enter the specific product in question to have the widget do a search on recalls for you.  It's a handy tool if you aren't interested in scrolling through other recalls to possibly find the one that you are interested in.

Keeping children safe is just one of the many responsibilities of parents these days.  Keeping apprised of product recalls is just one of the ways to stay armed with information to make the best decisions possible for your kids.

Visit us at Positive Parenting with Purpose for more on child safety, which includes info on such things as car safety (and more on the infant car seat), child poisoning, the internet safety for kids, (including info on things like the sexual offenders list), sun safety for kids, and some general information on child safety products to consider.