by Dionne Muhammad

Pick up any newspaper or tune in to a morning news program, and you are likely to hear talk about safety on the Internet. The challenge for parents is to educate themselves and their children about how to use the Internet safely. Below are suggestions for making your child's online experience a safe one.

Put your computer in a central location where the entire family can use it. Such a public location limits where a child will go and allows you to react to what comes onto the screen.

Restrict your child's online access using parental control software which limits the Web sites a child can visit.

Establish family rules about using the Internet. These should include where your child can go (yes or no to chat rooms, Usenet newsgroups, and so on), what your child can do (yes or no to sending e-mail messages, filling out online surveys, entering contests) and an understanding that some behavior is strictly off-limits. That includes giving out personal information, such as name and address, and using vulgar language or engaging in name-calling.

Make sure children agree that there will be no secret relationships on the computer. Your child should not agree to meet online "key-pals" in person, and he should tell you if anyone suggests a meeting. Also, ask your child to let you know about any message, image or material that makes her feel weird or uncomfortable.

Encourage your child to hit the Back button on the browser promptly if she stumbles onto something upsetting or a Web site that is clearly intended for adults. Teach your child not to get stuck on something--tell him to back out if he doesn't like where he is.

Go surfing with your kids. If your family is new to the Internet, explore online services as a family first and periodically revisit the Web with your children.

Teach your children that what they see, hear and read online may not be true.

One way parents are dealing with inappropriate content on the Web is by using software to shield kids from the dark side of the Internet. These parental control software  programs allow parents to decide what type of content their children can view on the Internet. Among the most popular are:

Cyber Patrol ($29.95; 800-828-2608), Net Nanny  ($39.95; 800-340-7177)  and SurfWatch ($49.95)

(Dionne Muhammad is president, CEO of Ashanti Technologies and Blinks.net. She can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].)