Microsoft have developed several parental guidelines for children’s use of Internet. Read their recommendations due to the age of your child.

Windows Live Family Safety and the parental controls included in Windows Vista can help you create a safer online environment for your children.

The American Academy of Pediatricians (AAP) helped Microsoft develop age-based guidance for Internet use with the family safety settings in both of these products. It's important to remember that these are guidelines only. You know your child best.

Up to age 10
Use High settings. Supervise and monitor your children until they are age 10. You can use Internet safety tools to limit access to content, Web sites, and activities, and be actively involved in your child's Internet use.

Here are some safety tips to consider when you go online with your 2-10 year old:

• It's never too early to foster open and positive communication with children. It's a good idea to talk with them about computers and to stay open to their questions and curiosity.

• Always sit with your children at this age when they're online.

• Set clear rules for Internet use.

• Insist that your children not share personal information such as their real name, address, phone number, or passwords with people they meet online.

• If a site encourages children to submit their names to personalise the Web content, help your children create online nicknames that don't give away personal information.

• Use family safety tools to create appropriate profiles for each family member and to help filter the Internet. For more information, see Windows Live Family Safety or Windows Vista Parental Controls.

• Help protect your children from offensive pop-up windows by using the pop-up blocker that's built in to Internet Explorer. You can also help block pop-up windows that appear when you're not surfing the Internet with Windows Defender. Windows Defender comes with Windows Vista. If you use Windows XP SP2 or higher, you can download Windows Defender for no charge.

• All family members should act as role models for young children who are just starting to use the Internet.

Ages 11 to 14
Use Medium settings. Children this age are savvier about their Internet experience, but it's still a good idea to supervise and monitor their Internet use to ensure they are not exposed to inappropriate materials. You can use Internet safety tools to limit access to content and Web sites and provide a report of Internet activities. Make sure children this age understand what personal information they should not give over the Internet. When your children are at this young age you should supervise their computer use and use tools such as Windows Live Family Safety or Windows Vista Parental Controls.

Here are some safety tips to consider when you go online with your 11-14 year old:

• It's a good idea to foster open and positive communication with your children. Talk with them about computers and stay open to their questions and curiosity.

• Set clear rules for Internet use.

• Insist that your children not share personal information such as their real name, address, phone number, or passwords with people they meet online.

• If a site encourages children to submit their names to personalise the Web content, help yourchildren  create online nicknames that give away no personal information.

• Use family safety tools to create appropriate profiles for each family member and to help filter the Internet. For more information, see Windows Live Family Safety or Windows Vista Parental Controls.

• Set family safety tools on the medium security setting, which should have some limitations on content, Web sites, and activities.

• Keep Internet-connected computers in an open area where you can easily supervise your children's activities.

• Help protect your children from offensive pop-up windows by using the pop-up blocker that's built in to Internet Explorer. You can also help block pop-up windows that appear when you're not surfing the Internet with Windows Defender. Windows Defender comes with Windows Vista. If you use Windows XP SP2 or higher, you can download Windows Defender for no charge.

• Encourage your children to tell you if something or someone online makes them feel uncomfortable or threatened. Stay calm and remind your children they are not in trouble for bringing something to your attention. Praise their behaviour and encourage them to come to you again if the same thing happens.

Source:

Microsoft.ie/protect: http://www.microsoft.com/protect/parents/childsafety/age.aspx