It’s not rare for parents these days to hand a screaming child a phone or tablet. There are so many applications and videos geared towards children that it’s become the modern television.
Additionally, as children grow older, they may want accounts of their own. Whether it’s social media to connect with friends or an email account for school, it’s hard to say no in today’s world.
It’s important to remember, phone usage can be unsafe for various reasons. Radiations, eye strain, and other physical issues are some of the concerns. Even though there are some remedies, for example, phone cases that block EMF (Electromagnetic Field), we can’t help but worry about what they search online. So, it is important to take the right measures to ensure that your child remains safe online as well.
Whether it be on the computer or your phone, it’s not only predators you should be looking out for. It’s equally as important to protect them from negative psychological impacts of digital culture.
Take a look at some of the best ways to keep your child safe online, while still allowing them a little freedom.
Discuss The Risks
It’s important that you put everything on the table. Even though you may want to protect your child by keeping quiet about certain dangers, it’s crucial to talk about it.
Make sure that they know the risks of talking to strangers. Ensure they understand that the predators they’re warned about in the real world are still present online as well.
Create a set of guidelines to help them stay out of trouble. Make sure they know not to accept friend requests from strangers. They should never give out personal information online such as their address or phone number.
Kids are much better at applying the rules if they know why the rules are set in place. Make sure that you explain the dangers and risks behind why you’ve created these rules.
Update Settings
When you set up an account for your child, make sure that you are familiar with privacy settings. Details such as their location and age should be hidden as well as the option of contacting them directly.
Additionally, you should make sure that your spam and virus settings are up to date since kids can click in places they shouldn’t!
Use a Filter
The internet is a wealthy source of information which can be wonderful for learning and exploring. However, there are many places kids shouldn’t be. Use a DNS service which filters your child’s browsing path.
By setting up a filtered DNS through your router, your child will be steered clear of bad websites.
Kids YouTube
YouTube is one of those places where you can be watching funny cat videos one minute, and suddenly you’re looking at something shocking. There is also a considerable amount of advertising which you may not necessarily want your child to be subjected to.
Do yourself a favor and delete the traditional YouTube application altogether. Instead, download the kid version. YouTube offers a child-friendly service with extremely filtered results, so you don’t have to worry about stepping out of the room for a moment.