5 things every parent can do to keep their kids safe online!

As parents, we generally do everything we can to keep our children safe and well, from getting them to ‘slip, slop, slap’ before going out in the sun, to being careful when crossing a road and always wearing a helmet when cycling. But what are you doing to protect them from bullies, predators, and inappropriate content online?

Let’s face it, the internet is here to stay, and with eighty-three per cent of teens going online three or more times daily (and this is increasing with more and more teens having smartphones), it’s time, if you haven’t already, to introduce some cyber safety know how to your parenting toolkit. Here’s ten tips to get you started.

1. Talk openly with your child about their online activity

As soon as your child starts accessing the internet, talk to them about what they are reading, watching and who they are communicating with online – and keep the conversation going as they grow older. Ask your child what sites they visit or apps they use, write a list, and look at them together. Talk to your child about what you think is appropriate, and remind them that this may be different for other parents and their children.

Listen to your child and reach an agreement about what is right for your family. Remember, there will come a time when they will need to use the internet outside of the safety of their own home, and you want them to be ready for that.

It’s vital to teach them about their online reputation, too, and how they must be careful about how they behave, interact with people, and represent themselves in such a public forum. They must always remember that the internet isn’t private.

2. Keep screens and devices where you can see them

Always monitor your child’s time online, particularly younger children. Keep the computer in a central spot in the home where it’s easy to keep an eye on what your child is doing and viewing online. You can configure mobile devices to forget Wi-Fi passcodes, preventing your children from going online without your knowledge. You can also try to make an agreement that there are no tablets, laptops or gaming in bedrooms.

For younger children, you might also consider checking browser histories after your child has been online to see what sites they are visiting. This approach obviously gets harder as children grow older and work out how to clear histories – which is more reason to open the lines of communication about internet use at an early age

3. Know your parental controls

Innocent searches online can lead to not-so-innocent results, so it’s wise to know how to use the parental controls/search restrictions offered by web browsers, internet service provider and devices. For example, the SafeSearch Filters feature on Google will block sites with explicit sexual material. To turn it on, go to Settings/SafeSearch Filters. Although not 100 percent accurate, parental controls can help prevent your child from seeing and accessing most violent or sexual material. See https://www.internetmatters.org/parental-controls/. Paid-for security tools and features will offer extra protection and control.

4. Know who your children’s online friends are

As adults, we know that some people online aren’t who they say they are, but children and young people can be alarming naïve about who they are chatting with if they are not taught to be cyber wise from an early age.

Make sure you become friends and contacts within your child’s social media circles and ensure you monitor posts. Your children may resist but tell them that is one of the conditions for you to allow them access

5. Be ‘share aware’ to protect your privacy

If your child is a regular user of social networks, they must be aware of the risk of personal information or images being made public once they post it. While they won’t fully understand the consequences of revealing personal information online, you should teach them to be cautious and thoughtful about what they post and share. Encourage your children to ask themselves before posting anything if the information (i.e. name, phone number, home address, email, name of school) or photo is something they would give a stranger. If the answer is no, don’t post it.

If your child is sharing photos or posts online ask your child to let you see what they are sharing or ask an older sibling to check any photos before they’re shared.

Ultimately, you don’t want to instil fear in your child or prevent them from experiencing the many educational, entertainment, social and other benefits of the internet, but rather give them the skills and knowledge they need to know how to make the most of it and avoid the dangers.