Internet safety: Top 5 ways to keep your kids safe

We all love Facebook, but do you really need 400 friends? Teach your kids to take it slow on Facebook. It is not a competition of who can have the most friends. They need to have good, meaningful friendships at school and on the Internet. This could also prevent cyber-bullying that is happening more often that we realize. Restrict your child's Facebook privacy settings. "Friends only" is key. Here is a link to a video tutorial on how to adjust the privacy settings: Facebook privacy settings.

Your children's Internet profiles will follow them the rest of their lives as they apply for college and jobs. Help your kids keep a clean and positive Internet profile.

Teach them great things on the Internet

Do you kids have a random question? Show them how to search for the best answer.

Do they like to write? Let them start a blog. You can set up the blog to restrict access to invited readers only.

Do they want to get more involved in a cause? Help them start a social group (twitter, Facebook, blog) to promote a worthy cause.

Do they like to be creative? Let them film a video and post it online. Vimeo is a great video sharing platform that has more restrictive features than YouTube.

Do they have a great idea? Research the idea on the Internet. See if anyone else has done it. Maybe let them start a small business and run with it.

As you can see, the Internet is a great vehicle to enrich your kids' lives. Just make sure your kids have fastened the seat belt and you are a close by as they learn how to drive.

Cathy Olsen is an IT security professional, mother of four and

creator of www.securemama.com — making the Internet safer for families one post at a time. Follow her on Twitter (@Securemama) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/Securemama)