How to keep your child safe in the age of the internet?
- Updated on 30 Jan 2022
- Parents Corner
- Mautushi Paul
Introduction
Everybody who has internet access, either at home or on his smartphone, has more than 2.7 million internet sites. The internet can be a tool for children for learning and development, or it can be dangerous if they contact the wrong people or come across harmful content.
Parents are responsible for their children’s internet safety, but kids themselves should also know how to act when surfing the internet and when to avoid unpleasant situations online; that is why teaching your child internet safety is very important even before they get into primary school.
Every year new internet dangers appear and parents often do not know what tech-savvy kids are up to behind their backs. Therefore, one of the best ways to keep your child safe is by explaining internet safety and all of the possible outcomes to keep them aware of it.
10 tips for child’s internet safety
Here are some tips for the internet safety of kids that you must know-
1) Teach kids to be aware of internet threats and how to protect themselves from them
It is a significant step in internet safety for kids to make them aware of internet dangers. You can start by telling them the internet is not 100% safe, and many people want to hurt children online. After that, you can tell your kids about internet predators like hackers and internet bullies who use the internet for their evil intentions. Make sure you give yourself enough time for this discussion without closing it down; also, don’t forget to share this internet safety of kids tips with other parents.
2) Teach kids to respect peers’ privacy
It is essential for internet safety for kids to the point where you need to teach them about strangers on the internet sharing personal information. The Internet is a virtual world where all of us get connected with our friends over the internet or chat platforms, including strangers. Make sure your child does not share their personal information with anyone they do not know well.
3) Teach internet safety for kids to avoid internet predators
The Internet has become a boon where people these days search for information in a few seconds using internet search engines or internet browsers. But the internet is also a world where you need to take extra care of your kids while surfing the internet because the internet can be very dangerous sometimes, especially when you have small children around. There are many internet safety tips where parents should teach their young ones how to call the police and deal with internet predators on the internet themselves. Make sure you talk about the dangers of talking to strangers online and what they should do if someone asks them uncomfortable questions which make them feel unsafe on the internet.
4) Talk about internet dangers regularly with your child without being too pushy or strict, just casual ones
While talking to your child about internet safety for kids, don’t be too strict or pushy; the internet is not something dangerous in itself; it’s when people abuse it. So don’t make them too afraid of it.
5) Make sure you are the only person who knows your child’s password
Don’t be a sneaky parent in the face of providing internet safety for kids but do keep all the passwords of your internet-related accounts to yourself so that you can monitor the internet activity of your kids.
6) Teach them about social media safety
One of the best tips for internet safety for the kids was to teach children that if someone messages them on Facebook with bad language or asks them uncomfortable questions which make them feel unsafe on the internet, show parents immediately so there can be a discussion about the internet dangers together.
7) Keep the computer in a common area
It is so that you can always supervise what your kid is up to online. Parental control software and internet filters are also good ways for cyber-safety of children these days, so use those as much as possible.
8) Make sure your kids know how the internet works
Take them on educational websites and have fun together! The more they learn about it, the more internet safety they will have during their entire life. Expose them to explore the internet and let them know about internet safety in between.
9) Establish internet rules
Tell them what is allowed and what isn’t. For example, only limited time on the internet or Facebook or internet games, etc. It is also good to establish consequences in case that these rules are broken so they will not do it again. I think the consequences like an internet ban for a month or something like this do the job well.
10) Teach your children about cyberbullying
Finally, the most important aspect of internet safety for kids is to make them aware of cyberbullying. If they start suspecting, it teaches them how to deal with it because knowing when you are bullied online can be very different than when you are bullied offline. Tell them to report any kind of bullying they face or even anyone they know going through it. In addition, also teach them about the consequences so that your child won’t turn into a bully.
Conclusion
The Internet is a fantastic place to learn, explore and have fun. Just to let you know, the internet is not all bad; it has some wonderful tools that can help kids develop even better! As parents, it’s up to us to keep our children safe online, so they don’t fall prey to cyberbullying or internet predators. Always be with them whenever possible, so if anything goes wrong, you can help. Make your internet experience a positive one with these safety tips for internet use at home and elsewhere.
You can also read
34 Preventive Child Safety Measures which every parent should know
Top 7 Boundaries You Need to Set for Children Using Technology
