As the Internet grows to be such a common educational tool for children, teachers and educators may need to make some changes in standard research requirements. Some teachers and parents have also expressed concern that the information kids come across while researching or even just playing around on the Internet could be unreliable or inappropriate. Some parents try to prevent such problems with the use of Internet monitors and filters. Quite a few organizations lobby for federal regulations of online content and have had minor success with the recent implementation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act , a law prohibiting the gathering of personal information on the Internet from children under 13. However, most parents and groups have generally concluded that close parental monitoring is the best way to keep children safe on the Internet.
Educators also have some responsibility in keeping kids safe from inappropriate Internet material.
Clearly spelling out a way for kids to back out of inappropriate sites and having a working, but simple, Internet use policy within school buildings supported by district policy is very helpful. With this type of help and guidance, as well as parental monitoring, kids should be able to discern dangerous situations and define their own boundaries according to what makes them comfortable. In addition to instruction and supervision from parents and teachers, the Internet provides resources of its own for children's Internet safety. SafeKids includes rules for kids and parents for online safety, a family contract for online safety, and links to articles and tips about kids and teen-agers on the Internet. NetParenting , a page intended for parents' use, lists the best sites for kids on the Internet, reviews monitoring and filtering devices and outlines the basics for kids on the Internet.