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Any parent worries a lot about keeping their children safe. But, although you might worry about things like stranger danger or accidents, you might not give much thought to what your kids are doing online. Keeping your kids safe online is one of the most important things that you need to do if you want them to be happy and healthy. There are so many things that can go wrong, from fraud to grooming. However, the internet is also very useful for both fun and education. So how do you keep your kids safe without banning them from using the internet altogether?
Supervise Their Device Use
Banning your children from going online isn’t the answer if you want them to be safe. However, what you can do is make sure that you supervise them when they are online. When they are using any device that connects to the internet, whether it’s a computer, phone, or something else, make sure you’re in the same room. You can also set parental controls on different devices and on the apps or websites that they use. This ensures you know what they’re doing and prevents them from doing anything that you don’t approve of.
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Talk to Your Children
Open communication with your children is essential if you want them to be safe online. You need to talk to them about how to be safe online, and they also need to feel able to come to you if they have any concerns. You don’t want them to do anything in secret or be afraid to tell you about any issues. You can look for age-appropriate resources that will help you to start the conversation and continue talking about online safety as they get older. There are various issues you might want to discuss, from how to stay safe to being online in a healthy way.
Educate Yourself
If you grew up with the internet, you might feel like you know everything there is to know about using it safely. However, things can change quickly, and you can discover that it’s a different landscape compared to when the world wide web was still in its infancy. You might need to learn things like what an SMP Minecraft server is or how to use Discord, not just to help keep your kids safe but also to help them when they’re trying to do something. Be sure to keep educating yourself and learning what it looks like to be online as a child today.
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Spot the Signs of Problems
Being able to spot the signs of potential issues is important if you want to keep your children safe online. You might look for changes in your child’s behavior, both when they are online and at other times. Perhaps they are more anxious, sad, or angry than usual. You might feel like they are trying to hide something or you might notice inappropriate behavior. These could all be signs that you need to talk to them about what they are doing online.
Keeping your kids safe online can be challenging, but it’s important to teach them how to stay safe so they can learn healthy behaviors.