There are more and more kids getting their own websites these days. Whether it’s for a blog, learning how to design websites or even for budding internet business moguls, it’s getting more and more common.

But if you’re thinking of registering a website for your kids, there are a couple of things you need to consider.

First, when you register a domain (”domain” in www.domain.com) you need to enter the contact information of the person registering it. This includes an address, full name, phone number and email address.

This information is publicly available to anyone who wants to look it up, so it’s important that you either use an office address, a post office box or some kind of privacy protection. Otherwise anyone can look up the full name and address of who owns the site. Whether it’s in your name or your child’s, they can be tracked down with that information if it’s your home address & phone number.

Most domain registrars offer privacy protection that will shield that information from being viewed publicly. Some charge a couple of dollars extra for the service while others include it automatically.

Second, if you’ve already registered a domain with personal information you can change it through your domain registrar. But you need to be aware that the historical information will always be available to anyone willing to pay to get it. It’s not expensive ($15-$30) to get this service, and there’s nothing you can do to block it.

Even if you add privacy protection now, the historical data is already stored.

I came across a website today that was being run by a 12 year old boy. He had put a lot of work into it, and was doing a great job of it. But on one of the pages he specifically said that his parents wouldn’t let him post his last name because of the risks that can come from the internet.

At the same time, the website was registered in his name with his home address, phone number and email address out there for anyone who knows how to find it.

All the effort his parents went to to protect him was out the window from the start.

You always, always need to remember that once information is “out there” on the internet, it’s next to impossible to get it back. Make sure you’re safe in the first place.