We live in a world of technology. We are constantly bombarded with the latest and greatest of everything. They even make cell phones for toddlers to call mom and dad now. With the constant growth in technology it is important to educate your children about staying safe online. Children who are educated about internet safety are much more likely to take precautions to stay safe than those who aren’t. The dangers of the online world are rampant. There are predators lurking around every corner, waiting for them to make a mistake. Talk to your children about the importance of staying safe. Here are a few tips to get you started.
Remind your child that it is never ok to post personal information on the internet. This includes their name, age, phone number, address, and where they go to school. Make sure your children are staying away from online chat rooms. It only takes one little mess up for something bad to happen.
Keep the lines of communication open with your children. If they happen upon something inappropriate while they are on the computer, you want them to be able to feel comfortable enough to come and talk to you about it. It is easy to end up on a site you didn’t intend to be on. Pornographic websites are getting more and more clever about their titles. All it takes is switching a letter here and there on a popular website and you can end up in the wrong place. Talk to your children about the dangers of pornography and let them know what is and isn’t acceptable in your home.
You may want to invest in some content blockers, especially if you have younger children. This gives you more control about what sites they can and cannot visit. Filters don’t always catch everything, but it is a good place to start.
Monitor your children’s computer usage. Check the browser history frequently so that you are aware of what they are looking at online. If it does become a problem be sure to communicate with your ex spouse so that you are on the same page with everything and can work out a solution together. The internet is a great tool for our children, but it can be dangerous if you aren’t monitoring what’s going on.