From cyberbullying to online child predation and scamming, the online world is jam-packed with innumerable threats. According to the latest statistics, younger children spend 80 percent of their time using mobile phones and remaining online for 3 hours a day. The time they spend online is the riskiest because it is when they may expose to harassers, scammers, predators and sex offenders. Parents are needed to be watchful about the online lives of their teens and tweens to ensure protection. This article provides complete guide to parents on how they can keep their children out of trouble online. Read the given points and implement them all to make the online journey of kids secure.
Talk About Online Dangers
The psychologists confirm that the best way to provide support to kids is to have a conversation. Talk about online dangers and help your kids learn the ways to combat these dangers. Your kid must know what cyberbullying is and what the best way to deal with a bully is.Also, educate them about online child molestation and online scamming.
Use Privacy Settings
The online platforms such as social media sites and instant messengers come with privacy settings to protect users from unpleasant experiences by customizing online accounts.For instance, Facebook lets you choose who can see your posts and send friend requests through privacy settings. You can seek guidance about these settings from the internet. Make sure your kid uses these privacy settings to make their online accounts protected.
Do not Respond to Cyberbullying Online
It is an effective practice to not respond to cyberbullying messages, emails and comments right away. Giving response to the bully in his desired way can only add fuel to the fire. Be patient and do not behave the way bully wants you.However, do not delete bullying stuff because it can be used as evidence in case the bullying continues.
Set Private Profiles
The social media sites let the user set public or private profiles. The posts made on public profiles can be seen and commented by anyone. However, the private profiles can be customized to avoid online troubles. If your kids are using public profiles, ask them to turn their profiles into private.
Set Strong Passwords
Passwords are important to ensure the security of online accounts. Set a strong password for all online accounts so the scoundrels or hackers could not access your accounts wrongfully. Also, help your kids to memorize these passwords and to protect them as well.Let them know that sharing passwords with friends can be risky because they would not protect it the way it should be.
Do not Post Personal Information
It is highly significant to know that what is posted online remains there forever.The stuff your kids post on social media sites can be copied and misused even if it is deleted afterwards. Let you kids know that they should not post anything personal, objectionable or age-inappropriate. Do not provide contact numbers, residential addresses, sexually explicit photos and videos. Have detailed conversation with your little ones about what is safe to post and what not.
Do not Accept Unknown Friend Requests
Making more friends and getting more follows has become a race for youngsters. However, adding unknown people in your friend list can be risky because you do not have verified information about them. The people in your kid’s friend list can be predators, scammers, persecutors or hackers.
Make Rules
Setting digital rules is crucial. The rules can help making your kid’s online journey secure. For instance, you can forbid your kids to go online late at night. Do not allow younger children to use age-inappropriate apps and software. You can seek help from the internet to compile a list of useful digital rules.
Set Screen Time Limit
The time kids spend using screens of mobile phones, computers and television should be managed. The excessive screen time can negatively influence the physical, mental and psychological health of your kids.
Monitor Online Activities
Supervising kid’s online activities is crucial to protect them from the online dangers. You can take support of cell phone spy and parental control app to stay updated about every single online and offline activity of your kid.