How to Keep Your Children Safe Online (Part 2)
As soon as your child comes home from school, they are open to a world of possibilities on the Internet, which means there is a need to monitor your child’s online activities after school until bedtime. Social media has led to easy communication to various people all over the world and while this can be seen in a good light, it can also allow your household to be vulnerable to criminals and predators. Here’s part 2 of tips on keeping your kids safe online.
- 4. Know who your child’s online friends are – It is always important to keep track of who your children are having conversations with on their social media accounts. To raise a conversation, you should keep it light—ask your children over dinner, what topics they had discussed and with whom. If you feel like the person your child is communicating with is suspicious, explain that they should not talk anymore, and when faced with resistance, tell your child that this is one of the conditions of giving them Internet access.
- 5. Talk to them about the importance of being “share aware” – Your children should know to sharing any information online becomes public, so they should know that they should avoid oversharing information, especially private information. Encourage your kids to ask themselves “would I give this information to a stranger?” before posting anything online. If the answer is a resounding “no”, then they should not to post it.
- 6. Remind your family about the responsibility around their digital footprint – Whatever we post online is permanent, despite the existence of the ‘delete’ button. It is vital that your kids know the responsibility of posting something sensitive online that could put your family in danger. Always be wary of how much you share publicly. Encourage your family to use their privacy settings and avoid posting to your entire social network, just a select few.
Talking to your children about the responsibility of sharing information online at an early age will encourage them to be more responsible as they grow into mature adults. Always remember to have a calm conversation with them, answering all their questions that they are legitimately curious about.
Stay tuned for more safety tips in Part 3 on how to keep your kids safe online. Meanwhile, you can check out Part 1 here.
