Top 5 Tips to Keep Your Kids Safe Online – Part 1

Everywhere you look today technology is at our fingertips. It's even hard to find a child that doesn't have an electronic device. The internet is a great, powerful thing—it can be used for things like shopping, playing games, connecting with friends or doing research for a school project. But with great power comes great responsibility; the internet isn't without it's dangers like cyber bullying, predators and adult content. It's important to make sure your child is safe on the web and you can do that by following these tips.

Set Usage Limitations

Make it clear that your child is allowed only 30 minutes of "play time" on the laptop. He can play games, peruse parent-approved social media sites and chat with friends. When the time's up, the laptop is used strictly for homework and nothing else. Likewise, dinner time should be family time and a gadget-free zone (which includes turning our phones off too and ignoring the text pings!)

Instruct Them on Protecting Their Privacy

Most children don't know how harmful it can be to give out personal information—not only for themselves but friends and family too. Your child must be taught what's okay to post and how to set privacy settings on social media and instant messaging apps. There are other things she needs to know too:

●      Under no circumstances should she ever give out her name, address, phone number, picture, e-mail address, school or password unless she gets parental permission first.

●      Only friend people she has met in person.

●      Never open a message or e-mail from someone she doesn't recognize.

●      Don't agree to meet someone she's only chatted with online.

●      Never reply to any disturbing or hurtful message.

Also, make sure she understands if she gets a distressing message or sees something that makes her uneasy, she should tell you immediately. Promise her that you won't revoke her online time, blame her or overreact.

Computer Placement Is Essential

Your kids won't like it, but you need to keep an eye on what they're doing online. Put the computer in a high traffic area or a room that gets a lot of use. Perhaps the family room or dining room works best for you. Also, make sure you get his passwords for each social media site he's on and for all his devices. It's critical that you frequently check who he's chatting with and what he's posting and looking at.

Explore Their Browser History

You can't be over her shoulder checking the sites she's on all the time. So, to keep her safe, it's your duty to regularly look at the device's browser history; but if your child is savvy on computers, she might know how to clear it. If you think that's the case, then a safety monitoring app or software, like Bark or MamaBear, will do the trick. It works in the background so she'll never know it's on the device. This monitoring app/software can go on any gadget she uses to go online and you can check out an activity log any time you wish.

Setting parental controls on your search engine and internet browser will also help keep her from seeing things she's not supposed to. If you want to take it a step further (or have teens), there's software to block unacceptable internet content like Net Nanny that can help you out.

Lead by Example

This is just as important as the other tips here. If you don't think your children are watching your gadget habits, think again. If you're on social media, don't post (or take down) embarrassing naked baby pictures of your kids; show your child that you don't have any personal info on your accounts. Limit your usage and keep your devices out of your bedroom after their bedtime. Your children are more likely to follow your rules if you're adhering to them too.

Today's technology makes it even more vital to maintain your child's safety. Following these helpful tips will ensure your children use and see the positive side of the internet and allow you to have some peace of mind.

To find more wonderful tips, follow us.