Most parents are not very educated when it comes to new technologies, internet use or social networks, which can often be a problem when it comes to your children’s safety online. It’s understandable that you should trust your kids in most situations, but unconditional trust that they will always do the right thing without you guiding or monitoring them, can put your kids in danger in both real and online world.
The more you start educating yourself about the online world the more you will learn about all the dangers your child faces online. From inappropriate content that’s easily available, cyber-bullying, sexting and even dangerous people like identity thieves and sexual predators…this is the world your child steps into once he or she starts using the internet on a regular basis. This is why is extremely important to educate yourself on the things you can and should do to protect your child and make sure he or she acts responsibly. Here are some guidelines on how to protect your kids while they browse the web:
Keep the computer visible.
By keeping your computer in a room where your family spends most of the time, your kids will think twice before visiting inappropriate websites. A computer with internet access behind a closed door could bring a lot of trouble.
Always use strong passwords.
If you want to limit internet access for your kids while you’re not home the best way to do it is to protect your internet connection with a strong password. Remember to regularly change it so your children won’t be able to crack it. This way your kids can go online only when you allow it.
Protect personal information.
Explain to your kids that they should never give their personal information like full name, address or phone number to anyone they meet online, no matter how harmless that person might seem. If someone asks this information it’s probably a person that wants to take advantage of your child, so they should always warn you if this happens.
Educate yourself.
By learning as much as you can about the internet and all the dangers your children are facing it will be much easier to protect them. Educate yourself and stay current with trends so you can act in time and learn about the popular places online where young people like to meet.
With all the news lately about children being used by identity thieves or harassed by sexual predators online, it’s clear how important cyber safety is. As a parent you should use all the tools available to protect them and make sure they stay within your boundaries and rules. If that involves using drastic measures like spying on them (you can use mSpy for that) and reading their instant messengers then so be it. It’s better than to face all the horrible consequences inappropriate behavior online could lead to. Keep in mind that by letting your child use a computer with online access you’re getting an additional responsibility in your life, which can have grave consequences on
your child if you don’t control it.
Image courtesy of ourcommon, Flickr.
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