If your family has a WebPage, have you given a great deal of thought to what type of information you may be providing to visitors to that site? The following are some ideas you may want to consider before allowing certain items to be shown on a WebPage. If you do not want your child giving out personal information, then why include that information on your personal WebPage?

I have seen children's WebPages that include everything but a copy of their fingerprints. When you are designing a personal WebPage for your child, do not include details that may help someone become more than acquaintances with your child in cyber space. A first name is harmless, and probably even an age. But when you start including the name of the state and town where you reside, a picture of your child, his teacher's name and afterschool activities, you are giving someone enough information to actually locate and place your child at times during the day and a face to go with it. One of the best ways I have found to test this is think to yourself "What would I tell a stranger on the street?" You might pull out a picture, you may give them a name, but you certainly are not going to give them the schedule for all their basketball games and an open invitation to show up and watch your child at Miss Hannah's School because she is there Monday through Friday 9 am to noon.

The following is a list of personal information I see quite often on children's pages and reasons I feel like they should or should not be included.

1. Name - As I said before, this is probably fine, but include first name only.

2. Address - You may want to include a state, although I do not recommend it. I want you to consider how pertinant it is to the page. Why would anyone need to know where your child is located?

3. School, Teachers and Best Friends - I know it is nice to include that Susie really likes going to Sunshine Academy (and then linking back to the school homepage where the street address, city, state and phone number may be found) and that she enjoys her teacher Miss Smith ( who also has a home page, so you link to that as well, which has her class schedule on it) and spends all her time after school at Betsy's house (another link to her parent's home business page which has their home address... Do you see where I am leading? This is an extreme example, but one I see all to frequently. I just want you to consider what information you may be providing to someone by announcing it on your page or linking to it. You should also check with any child's, other than your own, parents before mentioning them in a WebPage. Would you want your child's information posted on another's page without your knowledge?

4. Activities - Afterschool, the baseball team, the next gymnastics tournament including time, location and "this is a picture of me in my competition leotard", are as I stated in number 3, just additional information that someone could use in finding your child.

5. Email - If you are going to include an email on your page, I always tell people to not include their ISP one (this is the one you get from your local Internet service). There are so many services that provide you with free accounts that can be forwarded (like Geocities) to your other email. I think it helps put one more layer between you and the stranger visiting your WebPage. Always check your children's email before they are allowed to read it. There could be any number of things in an email, including advertisements for adult sites or just a letter from someone you prefer your child not correspond with.

6. Guestbooks - These are very popular items for personal WebPages for children and adults alike. I know that I love all the warm fuzzies I get from those that have signed my guestbook, and it is always fun to go see what they have created by following their link. Have you considered the information you provide when you sign one though? You could spend a great deal of time "safety proofing" your child's WebPage, only to sign another's guestbook and completely undo all you have created. I know that almost all ask for a name, just include your first one. Many ask for home towns, states, school and grade. Again you are giving out personal information. If you or your child sign guestbooks, learn to leave things blank. If you have a guestbook, consider what information you request. Are you innocently asking a child for more information then you would want your child to give out?

7. Pictures - I love to include pictures on my WebPage, and I think there is little harm in including them, as long as you have been careful about the other information items you have included. "This is Melissa, she is 4 years old and lives on the West Coast with her parents" followed by an adorable picture of Melissa with her dog Ruffles. There is nothing wrong with that. It is when you add the other information that you have created a possible problem. Learn to be vague, this is the best way I know how to say it.

My purpose is not to make you paranoid or dash your dreams of building a great WebPage, but I hope that perhaps these factors have opened your eyes to the many ways innocently included information may be taken advantage of on the Internet.