Looking After Your Children on the Web

Today kids love getting on the web. They meet new people, find interesting information, enjoy great games, and more. However, a lot of children don't really know how dangerous the Internet can be. As parents, it's important that we protect our kids. So, here's a look at dangers on the net, some steps to protecting kids online, and why software can be a top protective method to use in your home.

The Dangers on the Net for Kids
You'll find that there are many different dangers on the net for kids today. In fact, you may not even be aware of them. Here are five of the top dangers you need to be aware of.

- Danger #1 - Malware - Malware essentially refers to malicious software, such as viruses, adware, Trojans, and adloaders. These can all damage your computer or can even allow people to get a hold of sensitive information. Many kids accidently download it or go to sites that put it on your computer.

- Danger #2 - Identity Theft - Sometimes kids respond to phishing scams or even give out private information. This can set them up for identity theft.

- Danger #3 - Content Inappropriate for Kids - There is a huge amount of inappropriate content on the web and it's easy for kids to get to it. The last thing you want is your kids stumbling across nasty porn or graphic violence on the web.

- Danger #4 - Online Bullying - Online bullying is more common than many people realize. In some cases it has led to depression and even suicide. You don't want your child to be a victim of it or to engage in it either.

- Danger #5 - Online Predators - This is the nightmare of every parent. There are many online predators out there that try to get involved in the lives of kids. Some stalk them, blackmail them, kidnap them, or worse.

Steps to Protecting Kids Online
Now that you realize some of the dangers on the net for your kids, it's time to start protecting them. Here are some simple steps to help you keep your children protected from the dangers of the internet.

- Step #1 - Warn Your Children - First of all, you need to make sure that you warn your kids of the dangers on the web. Sit down and talk to them about dangers that can occur so they can be prepared. Let them know things to look out for on the web.

- Step #2 - Keep Communication Open - Keep the communication open between you and your kids. Talk about what they do on the internet and stay involved in their lives. Make sure they feel comfortable talking with you if something negative occurs online.

- Step #3 - Set Some Ground Rules -  Set some ground rules for computer use. Give them a limited time online and restrict sites that they are allowed to visit.

- Step #4 - Have the Computer in a Public Place in Your Home - Kids shouldn't be closed up in their room on the computer. This can breed secrecy and distrust. The computer should be located in a public area in the home where you can monitor what is going on when your child is online.

- Step #5 - Monitor What Your Kids are Doing on the Web - It's not snooping. You should be checking out the sites your kids are visiting online. This way you know what is going and can ensure that they are not going places that could endanger them on the net.

Software - A Top Protective Method
Probably one of the most important things that you can do to keep your kids safe on the net is to install some type of internet protection software such as Net Nanny or PC Tattle Tale. The right software can allow you to set up parental controls on the computer so you can block content altogether that may be harmful for your children. Good software can also help you to more closely monitor what your child is doing online, such as the sites that they are visiting and what they are doing on these sites.

It's imperative that you work to keep your children safe online. The Web is a fantastic tool but it needs to be used carefully when it comes to your kids. Take the steps we have been through and begin using them. Invest in some great software as well. Together they will help you to make sure that your kids enjoy their time online and that they don't become victims.

This article was written by Tony Hilton of Fix-this-computer.com to help parents everywhere protect their kids online.

Deal With Your Picky Eater the Correct Way

Life is quite stressful when you have to deal with a picky eater at home. Daily you stand in your kitchen wondering what to prepare and if they will eat it. The power battles during meal times are driving you one step close to the grave too. Having little children that are picky eaters is not unusual. Many parents are in the same boat. I've heard that children will grow out of this problem. I'm sure sitting around and waiting for it to end is not the solution you are looking for. So, take a look at some of the ideas below:

1. Let them plan meals and go grocery shopping with you. By giving them the liberty to select the dinner menu, you raise the chances of them eating it.

2. Watch the before-meal snacks. You can't blame them if they say no to meals when they just had a snack to filled them up. Apart from the snacks, limit the drinks too. Don't underestimate the filling power of juice and milk.

3. Don't pile their plates with too much food. Give smaller portions and if they can eat more, let them have seconds. When you do this, they are not intimidated by the food.

4. Let them be kitchen helpers when you are cooking. The fact that they helped to cook it, motivates them to want to eat it. For instance, while preparing dinner, I persuaded my daughter who is 7 years old to help me chop up the broccoli and cauliflower. Guess what? She actually ate them when she wouldn't have before.

5. Present to them 2 types of foods to choose. Make them feel the decision is in their hands. Why not ask them if they prefer noodles or rice, carrot sticks or grapes, etc....

6. Learn to make snacks that are nutritional. Fruits and vegetables are simply the best. Turn them into finger foods that the kids can enjoy such as fruit kebab.

7. Point out what other children eat, especially their friends. Do you notice that your children are always more interested in eating other people's food then yours? It doesn't matter if their friends are eating food that is alien to them, as long as their friends are eating it, they are more likely to try. Maybe you should consider inviting your children's friends over more often. Of course, make sure you team up with the parents first so there's no junk food.

8. It could be your picky eater has a problem with the food's texture rather than the food's taste. If you suspect this to be so, try to prepare the food differently like making fruit juices instead of fruit slices or chopping the vegetables finely a hiding them in your dish.

9. Avoid giving them the label of a picky eater. If they hear you say it all the time, they may just accept that to be who they are.

10. Never go out of your way to cook them a separate meal. Yes, you suggest a choice of foods to them but it's not something different from the family menu. If you do this, you will just defeat the purpose of getting them to eat more types of food.

Goodness knows you need a lot of patience to handle picky eaters. The most important thing you must do, and also the hardest, is to let go of the power struggle during meal times. List down rules and adhere to it. One thing that will also help is to search out easy recipes for picky eaters. It definitely helps to get a little creative in preparing meals.

Protect Children Online

As a  parent, it is going to be your job to make sure that your child is protected in any situation that they might be in. It can often be hard to make sure that your child is protected, but with a bit of knowledge and help, you can insure that even when your kids aren't around you, they are making good decisions and are protected.

Keeping you kids safe online is a big chore, but a very importnat one. Nearly anyone can get access to your child online if they aren't protected, so you want to be sure that you are doing all that you can as a parent. The first thing that you need to focus on as a parent is making sure that your child doesn’t have a computer that isn't protected. Your family computer and computers which your family can access should all have parental control.  You can set levels of controls on these computers, so that passwords are needed to travel to sites that are not safe sites. With the highest level of controls, the parents can set the specific sites that their kids can visit, and their children cannot visit any other sites without a password. That way, parents can control where their children are online.

Its also important that parents monitor their kids when they are suing the net. Your child should not have a password that you don't know, and you should be checking up on what they are doing. Some might consider this a violation of privacy, but you need to explain to your children that when it comes to the internet they cannot have privacy as children.  You can check up on what they are doing and make sure that they aren't getting into a dangerous situation.

By far the most important part of protecting children online is to make sure that you are educating your children about the dangers of the internet. This is important because no matter how strict your parental controls are at home, and no matter how closely you guard what they are doing online, they are always going to have chances to be online without you around. At a friend's house, or even at school, they might find ways to be on sites that you don't want them to be on. So, you need to be sure that you teach them about how to be safe online.

Explain to them that anything they put online – pictures, words, phone numbers or addresses, is something that can be seen by everyone in the world. Talk to them about the dangers of talking to people online, and chatting with people they don't know. Help them see what the dangers are, so that they can make good decisions about being online when you aren't around. This will help you protect your children online in the greatest way, because it will help them get lifetime knowledge to continue to be safe.

Seven Ways to Make Reading More Fun for Kids

Inspiring your child to read is one of the most important things that you can do as a parent. With a love of reading, your child will have a critical tool for success. 

Here are seven tips to help get your children to tune out the television and tune into books.

1. Explore your child's interests.
Talk to your child's teacher about recommendations for books that would be particularly well-suited for your children and that might touch on current or future topics of classroom study. What authors have your children enjoyed in the past? If Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was a hit, try James and the Giant Peach next.

If your children don't have any favorite books already, talk to them about their interests. Your child's imagination might be piqued by a biography about someone in the news. Or you can ask each of your children to pick a favorite non-fiction subject. If your son loves spiders, put that at the top of your reading list. If your daughter is fascinated by jungle creatures, make that the focus of your library trips. Even if you end up finding books about their favorite television or movie characters, it's better than no reading at all.

2. Take time to find the best reading material.
At the bookstore or library, allow your children to lead the way. Give them ample time to explore the sections that interest them.  If they are drawn to comic books, strike a compromise. Let them pick out one comic book if they pick out another book with it as well. Guide them in their book choices based on what you learned about their interests. Make suggestions and see if you can encourage them to pick a wide variety of books, both nonfiction and fiction.

3. Set family reading time.
Establish a family reading hour. Turn off the TV and the radio and help your child read. If they are older, listen to them read to you. As your child grows, you'll look back fondly on this time that you shared together. Even older children benefit from hearing a story read aloud. Reading together at the end of the day also provides you with a great opportunity to connect with your child at the end of a busy day.

4. Engage your child in reading.
Build their comprehension skills by asking them about what they've read. Get their input on the material and you'll be able to build their understanding of what reading is all about.

5. Try some high tech alternatives to get your kids excited about the world of literature and books.
Download some audiobooks into your child's iPod. Audible.com has some great children's tales availalbe, read aloud in an engaging way. Or download some children's chapter books into your Amazon kindle. (Kindle coupons are here.)

6. Encourage reading in other parts of your child's life.
Reading books isn't the only way that your child can get experience in reading. You can play games that involve reading and spelling, such as Scrabble or Balderdash. You can have them help you with day-to- day reading tasks, such as cooking and reading labels at the store. Whatever ways you can add reading into your children's life will go a long way in their reading development.

7. Set a good example.
Reading parents produce reading children. You can't expect your child to take an interest in reading if you don't read yourself. Read a novel now and again. If you make reading a family affair, your child will be more likely to follow suit.

Why People Try Online Dating (And Why You Might Want to Try it, Too)

There was a time when the dating pool was confined to the people whom you met in your neighborhood, at school, at work, or through a friend.  Now virtually the entire world is open to you.

The online world has become a haven for singles. You no longer need to bear the noise and the expense of the bar scene, nor do you need to rely on your parents or your friends to introduce you to someone whom they think you would be sure to fall in love with. Plus, you don't have to deal with the inevitable awkwardness when they are wrong.

Online dating connects you to people across the coutnry (maybe the world), so it can be a quicker alternative.

Here are more reasons that Americans' interest in online dating services is one the rise:

1. Online dating services give you the ability to access hundreds of profiles. It's possible to learn more about any of your "matches" before you make a connection with them.

2. Your prospective love connections are not limited by the people you meet in your job, school, or social circle.

3. If you choose a reputable, reliable, and established online dating site, you will find a number of security measures set up to retain your privacy and safety. Some of these sites do a criminal record background check and some check to make sure that prospective members are, indeed, single. Before you sign up with an online dating service, look to see what kinds of safety measures they have put into place.

4. The decision of whether you want to meet someone is up to you. And you make the decision whether to share any of your personal information. Once again, if you have chosen a reliable online dating site, your personal information will be kept confidential until you decide to share it.

5. Online dating sites, such as yahoo online dating, have a number of different tools that make looking for a match a truly entertaining and enjoyable experience. Some sites offer personality tests, image uploads and some have personal ads with audio and or video.

6. Online dating is reasonably affordable. Most of the reliable sites charge a fee for membership (all those safety measures aren't free) but most of them also have a free trial period for online dating services where you can try out the site and see what it offers before you sign up for a longer membership.

Online Dating Advice

Most Popular Online Dating Advice

Online dating is used every day by a constantly increasing number of a large variety of people. It has become a popular method simply because it is free, easy and quick. The advantages of this system are more numerous than its disadvantages. However, the latter can be turned into positive points as long as some pieces of online dating advice are followed.

Take Your Time

The most important thing related to online dating is that there is less pressure; that is you can take your time when deciding on a certain partner. You can look at his or her pictures and analyze the profile. The most important online dating advice is that you should never rush to the first person that you see. Instead, browse a wider selection of candidates. Nobody is pressuring you, so you should just take this opportunity and think twice before deciding upon someone. If you are not in the mood to answer a message, then don’t.

Have a Longer List

Another online dating tip is to choose more than one candidate. In case one does not work out, you can focus on another one. It’s not like dating in real time, when you are afraid that your partner can catch you with another person. When having online relationships th e probability is low that something like this would happen.

Inform Yourself

When dating online, there are a lot of chances to be wrong as far as the real identity of your candidate is concerned. Talk to him or her a lot, ask a lot of questions, and test to see if you are being told the truth. You should pay attention to the fact that the photo that he has posted is meant to attract your attention and it is probably a fake. In such circumstances you should ask him to send you another one. There are some ways that you could use in order to verify if everything is true.

Don’t Get Involved Too Early

Probably the most important online dating advice is to stay away from involvement at least until you consider that your partner is really the person that he or she pretends to be. The best thing you can do is to be objective. In online dating, you can never be sure of anything so it is better to prevent than to recover.

Online Dating Advice

Danger of online dating

Online dating is a great way to meet new people, make new friends and have lots of fun. Some have even met their perfect lifetime match through an online dating portal. However online dating may be a bit tricky especially if you are new to it. Some people put themselves at risk not knowing the dangers of online dating.

A possible danger of online dating is to become a scam victim. Sad but true – many women “catch” men and ask them for money. They give empty promises that they actually need the money to come and meet the guy but after they get hold of the cash dim away.

Another danger of online dating is to provoke lots of unsolicited email messages start coming into your inbox. There will be many people asking for your email address in order to continue your relationship off the online dating site and only in a few hours, you will discover that you have become a spammer victim.

Another possible danger of online dating is to disclose your address. Well, the person who is asking for your address might seem completely normal and you may “know” him for quite time. In any case, you should never give your home or work address as you don’t really know who you are dealing with.

Online dating can be a great and safe experience if you are very cautious and learn a few basic rules of online dating. Thy will help you escape the danger of online dating and enjoy it.

First, remember – never give out personal information. You should not disclose your real phone number or your address. Some people do not even share their real name (as you can find the address and even the phone number using it), but use nicknames instead. If things get serious and if enough time has passed you may consider sharing such information with your dating partner.

Do not be over-credulous. The person who you are communicating with can write anything in his or her profile. In fact, you cannot be completely sure if it is a she or a he. In case you decide to meet your dating partner – do some background checks. Moreover, your first date should be during daytime in a busy public place.

The final tip – trust your gut feeling and never take chances. If your feel a person is right and genuine go ahead – you might have found the love of your live. However, be very careful and do not rush things. Take one-step at a time and think over it many times before you actually do it.

Safe Online Dating

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