Protect Your Child From Online Dangers with My Ebook

As a web developer, I know the power of the Internet. As a parent, I know its pitfalls.  Wearing both hats, I have published my ebook, “100 Ways to Keep Your Children Safe Online: The Guide for Parenting in a Digital World.”
 
The book has allowed me to share my expertise as an Internet consultant and as a father of two boys, a 6-year-old and a 4-year-old, to help other parents protect their children from nefarious computer users who may be using the Internet to harm or exploit children.

 
My company Breakaway Solutions has helped hundreds of companies and organizations harness the power of the Internet for various reasons. It’s a powerful tool for communication, commerce, education and hundreds of other uses.

But the relative anonymity it can provide to a user means the Internet can be manipulated for devious purposes by users who live on the dark side of the web. And just as a computer has become a modern-age tool for instruction, used by children from a very young age, it can also be used as a tool for destruction by predators looking to connect with vulnerable and innocent children.

Startling Statistics

To illustrate the dangers, let me share some of the statistics I found while writing my book:

■ 48 percent of K-1st graders reported viewing online content that made them feel uncomfortable.

■ 71 percent of teens receive messages from strangers online and 30 percent contemplate meeting them face-to-face.

■ About half of young people have experienced some form of online harassment; one in five children regularly experience cyberbullying.

■ 39 percent of teenagers send or post sexually suggestive messages and 48 percent say they have received such messages.

■ 20 percent of teens have engaged in cyberbullying behaviors.

Learn How to Safeguard

After hearing many horrible stories about children falling victim to online predators, I decided to write a simple book to provide parents with solutions that they can use to empower their children. You don’t have to be a computer expert to safeguard your child against unwanted advances by strangers on the Internet or from peers using social media as a forum for bullying.

I share practical tips, many of which include talking to your children about using the computer responsibly and being aware of risks. Communicating with your child is really the key to making most of these online safeguards work. On the technical side, I recommend installing software that provides parental controls that block certain websites and content, such as pornography. Establish a family email address, rather than allowing your child to have his or her own address. Create strong passwords and change them regularly.

In some cases, the tips I dispense will help protect your computer as well as your child. For example, blocking viruses can keep your computer working properly and by securing your Wi-Fi connection with a password and firewall, you can block unwanted users.

Sites Specifically for Children

I have tried to introduce information that can make computer usage easier and more fun for your child—more kid-friendly, if you will. Several companies have created browsers specifically for younger users. Such browsers use filtering to protect young eyes from unwanted and explicit material. Try using browsers such as Glubble and Buddy Browser, which disable external chat and encourage media sharing and social interaction with family and other people the child already knows.

Facebook has become so pervasive in our society, but leave that to the grownups and introduce your child to social networking sites specifically designed for kids, such as Webkinz or Club Penguin. They offer gaming and a social atmosphere in a kids-only environment with built-in privacy features, like use of an avatar instead of a photo.

These are just a few of the 100 tips that comprise “100 Ways to Keep Your Children Safe Online: The Guide for Parenting in a Digital World.”

Purchase Helps Save the Children

The book is available for purchase on my website, www.johnromano.com/books/ for $9.95. The best part is that by purchasing it you will be helping other children. I am donating 100 percent of the proceeds to the Save the Children organization, which is dedicated to helping children in need.

In writing this book I have tried to impart invaluable information to be used along with a rule of thumb I believe goes along with any parenting task: be involved. Know why, when and how your children are using their computer. Make it a family activity. Know who they are communicating with. All of those things will help you provide online safety for your child and shield him or her from danger.

 

Written by

John Romano is an entrepreneur, marketing strategist, Internet consultant, blogger and an expert in the technical, conceptual, and content development of online startups. He is the founder of several ecommerce sites and has helped multiple companies launch successful online businesses.

29 comments

  1. Stephanie

    Protect Your Child From Online Dangers with My Ebook

    Nice one John! What a great idea to write such a book. I’m sure it will help many people! :)

    • Protect Your Child From Online Dangers with My Ebook

      Thanks Stephanie! The only purpose for me writing this book was to help families/children. This has been one of my favorite projects and definitely the most rewarding at a personal level.

  2. Paul

    Protect Your Child From Online Dangers with My Ebook

    Hey John,

    Great read and very informative. You can never trust the internet these days and this is a great book on how to protect yourselves and kids.

    • Protect Your Child From Online Dangers with My Ebook

      Thanks for your feedback!

  3. Owen P.

    Protect Your Child From Online Dangers with My Ebook

    Hello John,

    One of my good friends, Lisa recommended me your book. At first I thought it would be just another guide telling us to block a few websites which are not safe for children and might even ask us to block social networking websites and all but I couldn’t ignore her recommendation so I bought it and didn’t read it for a day when I got it. The next day, I was just bored at work cause I had nothing interesting to do and then came the thought of giving your book a try. OMG, I have no words to explain how amazing your book is, I already recommended the same to like 5 other people in my office during the lunch. I could have just moved on without coming back to your blog and thank you but you really deserved it.

    • Protect Your Child From Online Dangers with My Ebook

      Owen, I’m pleased to know that you liked my book…. and thank you for the recommendations!

  4. Sam

    Protect Your Child From Online Dangers with My Ebook

    The world of internet is very vast and their are certain corners that children should stay away from. John you just won my heart with the amazing words that you wrote in that book, thanks for making me realize where I was wrong and how can I actually work on it to fix everything up again.

    • Protect Your Child From Online Dangers with My Ebook

      Sam, I’m glad you found the book useful! :)

  5. Peter J.

    Protect Your Child From Online Dangers with My Ebook

    Thanks John for the help and input. I’ve always struggled to secure my internet and talk to my kids about it but this will help.

    • Protect Your Child From Online Dangers with My Ebook

      I’m glad you found it useful! :)

  6. Shreya Arora

    Protect Your Child From Online Dangers with My Ebook

    Giving birth to a child is not everything, one has so much responsibility to take care of when it actually comes to be a good parent. There is no doubt that the internet is actually spoiling kids and they get to learn a lot of stuff which they are not meant to at their age. Honestly, I don’t really read books but I bought a bunch of parenting guides to start with and I lost interest in them in no time cause they explained just the very basic part that every parent is aware of but if there is one such book that actually taught me something good then THIS IS IT!!!

    • Protect Your Child From Online Dangers with My Ebook

      Shreya, I’m pleased to know that you found some insightful information in my book. It is always nice to see parents that try to better themselves for the sake of their children.

  7. S. Whitedale

    Protect Your Child From Online Dangers with My Ebook

    Very great book with some interesting and scary facts. I think this will do great on the Kindle too.

    • Protect Your Child From Online Dangers with My Ebook

      Anything in life can be scary if you are not prepared for it. Thanks for your recommendation.

  8. Steve Jones

    Protect Your Child From Online Dangers with My Ebook

    John great book and thanks for the read! I have passed this along to friends as it has some great information.

    • Protect Your Child From Online Dangers with My Ebook

      Thanks for sharing my book!

  9. Betty

    Protect Your Child From Online Dangers with My Ebook

    John, thanks for the recommendation. I’m glad I made the purchase and will pass this along to my friends to read and share.

    • Protect Your Child From Online Dangers with My Ebook

      Betty, I’m happy you decided to buy my book and found it worth the money you paid. Don’t forget that your purchase will also help a child in need (as I will donate the proceeds to my favorite charity).

  10. Protect Your Child From Online Dangers with My Ebook

    My 6-year-old son spends a lot of time on the internet playing flash games online, soon I started noticing a change in his behavior and that’s when I actually went out looking for a parenting guide. Your guide really made me realize how big of a fail my parenting actually was. I can’t thank you enough for this John.

    • Protect Your Child From Online Dangers with My Ebook

      Harshh, is it difficult for a parent to be an expert in everything. However, I must praise you for taking action to buy and read my book. Your self-assessment and willingness to learn makes me believe you have the quality traits of many great parents.

  11. Akash Malik

    Protect Your Child From Online Dangers with My Ebook

    Hey John,

    My Nephew started playing games on the computer like 6 months back and soon my sister introduced him to the internet but after a while we found out that he used to spend a lot of time on the internet and made some new friends too. He was going totally out of control but thanks to your ebook, now we know what we need to do to get him back on track and it seems that he has been doing better from the Day #1 itself. Thank you so much.

    • Protect Your Child From Online Dangers with My Ebook

      Akash, I’m happy to know that the information in my book helped your nephew. And as I told you in my email… you can share this book with anyone else that cannot afford to buy it. My digital book has gone viral and I’m receiving hundreds of emails similar to yours from people all over the world. I have made millions of dollars in the past, but this ‘not-for-profit’ book has been my most rewarding project so far! :)

  12. Kim Gardtidy

    Protect Your Child From Online Dangers with My Ebook

    John, wonderful book! Thanks

    • Protect Your Child From Online Dangers with My Ebook

      Kim, thanks for your feedback! :)

  13. Cassie B

    Protect Your Child From Online Dangers with My Ebook

    I always worry about my kids, especially being on the internet. This is a great read and helps ease the pain. You can never be TOO safe with your kids online. Highly recommend A+++

    • Protect Your Child From Online Dangers with My Ebook

      Thanks for the A+++ recommendation! :)

  14. Natasha Langervin

    Protect Your Child From Online Dangers with My Ebook

    I’m happy to have read this book. I will recommend this to friends as others have mentioned and pass along these interesting tid bits of information. It’s frightening to know almost 50% of K-1st graders report seeing things on the internet that makes them uncomfortable.

  15. Protect Your Child From Online Dangers with My Ebook

    Natasha, yes those stats are pretty astonishing (and I believe those stats may be even higher than reported as many children may not feel comfortable talking about these issues). I’m glad you found the book useful and thanks for the recommendations.

  16. Jennifer

    Protect Your Child From Online Dangers with My Ebook

    The internet is definitely too accessible to kids. Thanks for pointing out ways to safeguard them.

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