Today the internet is a significant part of everyone’s life, none more so than children. From their free time and chatting friends or to schoolwork and playing games.
The internet can enrich their lives as the amount of knowledge they can gain is far greater than they can obtain from many other sources.
There are six simple steps a responsible parent can take to make sure that their children are safe when they are online:
1. Talking About Risks and Danger
When children are old enough to make use of the internet and the technology to access it they are at the ideal age to be made aware of the dangers they face. Scare tactics should not be used as this could entice some kids into looking for what you are trying to prevent.
2. Online Risks & Setting Boundaries
These boundaries that should be set for younger children not only include the times a child is able to access the internet. They also include limitations of social media usage and over communicating with friends.
Any device that is used during mealtimes should be prohibited. The amount of time children spend online should be controlled as to contain a balance with family interaction.
3. Installing Parental Controls
These can be set to prevent unwanted software being installed which will prevent malware infections. These controls can also block any age-related content that is unsafe for viewing by children.
Safe-search can be set in many places, or a dedicated software package can be installed that gives a host of features to restrict content or block things altogether.
Parental controls can feel intrusive to a child so setting them can make a child who is old enough want to try and circumvent what you have put in place. On newer operating systems and devices, these parental controls can be set as part of creating a child’s own account for that device. This not only protects them while online, but it also protects the rest of the device.
4. Secure Connections
As children spend a lot of time online and might be unaware of the full dangers it is a good idea to secure your connection. This goes a long way in stopping online predators. The top VPN providers can protect your home connections and also protect a child’s mobile device.
This scenario is ideal when your child is away from home, and they are accessing the internet through public hotspots or free Wi-Fi zones.
These access points are well-known areas where hackers or online predators connect to protect themselves against being tracked while they perform unscrupulous activities.
5. Social Media and Cyberbullying
Much of a child’s online time is spent on social media platforms. These can be areas that pose potential threats. Online predators take advantage of this and try to befriend many younger children by making out they are someone they are not.
In some occasions, they want to meet, and this is an area where education prevails. A child should know they are never to meet a person they have met online without knowing who they really are.
Cyberbullying is another threat to children, and if they fall foul to it, they can be reluctant to mention it. This threat can take numerous forms which include: intimidation, harassment and publicly posting some personal information about your child.
The sharing of too much information on social media can attract this type of attention while making it easier for online predators to manipulate a child.
6. Online Activity Monitoring
There are several high-quality software packages that can be installed which monitor your child’s device. Some are unable to access social media through the top providers (Netnanny) provide this feature. Software can be set to send alerts to the parent should a child attempt to access any content that is dubious.
They can also monitor a child’s chat activity within social media and present a report of their activity.
The only caveat of using this type of software is if your child feels you are watching their every move or restricting them too much.
 A child that feels restricted is less likely to mention they have a problem online as they will feel it is their fault.
For parents, it is much better if your child understands the threats. Looking over their shoulder is one of the worst things a parent could do when your child is online.
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Their online experience should feel natural and unrestricted for them to enjoy what they are doing and at the same time, they will respect you as parents for giving them some freedom.
Contributed courtesy of Peter McBryde.
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My girls are not quite to the being online phase yet, but they do have screen time on an iPad playing games. My oldest is in kindergarten this year and she is learning about computers in her class. They get to play educational games and quizzes in there plus learn the basics about computers.
My son is also in kindergarten and definitely enjoys computer time. I feel like there is never too early time to be prepared. Kids are so smart these days.