Internet Homeschooling Safety needs to be a priority in our homes regardless of how innocent, sweet, and trustworthy we believe our children truly are.
Homeschooling with the Internet is astonishing and extremely educational, but can be very dangerous.
I am sharing my heart on this issue because I had a group of 6 ladies over my house for a Mom’s Night Out and 3 out of 6 of us have found our children misusing the Internet. This was extremely alarming to me. Everyone one of those children that have been reprimanded for acting irresponsibly online are being raised in a Christian homeschooling home.
Yes, you heard me right, a close-knit Christian family home that spends their days homeschooling together.
You are being naive if you believe that this would never happen in your home.
I decided to come up with Internet Homeschooling Safety Rules for our family.
- Always log on to the Internet when someone else is in the room, preferably an adult.
- NEVER share your last name, address, photos or passwords to anyone unless you have permission from a parent.
- NEVER except emails, IM messages, or open files from someone you are not familiar with.
- Immediately log off if someone is using inappropriate language or is discussing an issue that you feel is inappropriate.
- Always be a good cyber citizen and remember the golden rule.
- NEVER talk to strangers.
- Visit sites that have been approved with parents permission ONLY.
- Only visit YouTube when a parent is present online with you.
I made an Internet Homeschooling Safety printable to post by all of our computers. I encourage you to discuss these Internet Homeschooling safety rules with your family frequently and check your children’s history on all devices including phones monthly.
You can call me paranoid or impulsive, but my God-given job is to protect my children’s heart from the sin that is all around us. And education is just the beginning.
Have you read my FREE eBook, Teaching Multi-level in the Homeschool yet?
Do you have Internet Homeschooling Safety Rules in your home, too?
This is very important! Some think I am paranoid, too, but in this area, I believe you can never be too careful. It only takes a few minutes for someone to be scarred for life! Our computers are protected by a password that only my 18 year old daughter and I know. No one can use the computer without permission. They aren’t allowed to use the internet without an adult present, nor do they visit self-approved websites. They do not roam You Tube or Netflix. Our computers are in very open places, too. I am protecting our family from sin that is closer than at the door; it is at the click of a finger!!!! I pray OFTEN for protection for our family in this area. So sorry for your friends and their children. It breaks my heart that our world has gotten so unsafe and ungodly that we have to take these measures to protect those we love. I understand that not only boys are tempted to misuse the internet and we have the same rules for our daughters as we do for them! Thank you for sharing this with us. Blessings to you today.
Two out of the 3 were girls.
I LOVE it!!!! I have translated it into Hungarian as I find it very important to share it with others. If I send the words to you, are you willing to make the same chart with the Hungarian words, please?
Sure, I will be glad to. Please email me at [email protected].
Thank you so much for this!! Even though I’m quite careful about my kids using Internet and I even monitor my 9 years old girl skype calls and chat, I’ve found today that just one day I didn’t do this and she has received nasty images from one kid who used bad language. I immediately blocked him and erased him form her contacts list.
Now, I’m seriously talking to her about this kind of things.
Thank you for this! I have to add my two cents in on this subject (to the comments, I think the printable is great and should be used)
I think the worst thing you could do to your child is to say no YouTube, no TV, no Netflix, etc. I know a few (homeschoolers, Christian) people who have done this and it has not worked in the long run. Firstly, your children WILL be exposed to sin and learn about bad things – on the Internet, at soccer practice, in the grocery store. I feel it is better for them to learn about these things from you (a Christian parent) and the Biblical viewpoint, rather than from our sinful society. (For example, my 6 year old sister sees smoking everywhere, TV, Target parking lot, the county fair. My parents have clearly enforced smoking is bad for you. When we walk past someone smoking she always says, “Mommy, smoking is bad for you, right?”)
I am a home schooled teen, and my parents have always been extremely open and honest about everything with me and my sisters. I think this has helped us tremendously throughout our teen years. When we have questions, we go to them.
My parents have taught me biblical discernment, which I greatly appreciate. In the world we live in, sooner or later, children will hear profanity. Instead of blocking all profanity from our TV, movies, and everyday lives; my parents have taught us WHY using profanity is wrong, what the Bible says about it, and why we shouldn’t use it. (Now, this doesn’t mean you expose your children to sin just-because. the key is age-appropriate maturity and discernment) I truly believe this method is more effective because it works in the long run – parents can’t control what their grown, married children do, but morals and lessons will (hopefully) stick.
Does this make sense? Thanks for reading.
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