Though the incentives of the internet are irrefutable its unsupervised and uncontrolled use can expose your children to cyber criminals, bullies, predators and inappropriate adult material. The Internet is not safe for your kid at all, but you’ll have to make it safe for them. Start with web filtering, take help from parental control apps, monitor and involve in their cyber life. Teach your kid about the internet and how to use it rightly and responsibly, so you can protect them from digital dangers even when you are not around.
Start With Web Filtering
The most important precaution you can take to secure your kid online is to filter websites. You can set up web filtering on your router with OpenDNS to filter internet access across all your computers, mobile phones, and devices connected to the router.
Another recommended way to make the web secure your kid is to use the award winning content control software Net Nanny. It allows parents to block and filter internet content to prevent pornography. There is also a time management tool that let you can control the time your family spends online. You can impose maximum daily or weekly limits to use the internet. This software can also find inappropriate language on a site to restrict opening that page or cover the foul words by imposing symbols on them. The language detection tool also monitors messages posted to your child’s social media profiles to identify potential threats.
Monitor Your Kid’s Cyber Life
Being a parent, the responsibility lies on you to monitor both your kid’s real life and cyber life. How your kid surf the web and what he reveals on social networking sites everything should be in your knowledge. Opportunely, there are various apps letting you monitor your kids online and offline, one of them is TheOneSpy.
This monitoring application allows parents to track their kids’ surfing activities on any web browser including Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Safari, Opera Mini and Firefox. You can track every single URL opened on the monitored device as well as the bookmarked websites.
Moreover, you can monitor WhatsApp Messages, WhatsApp call logs, Facebook chat and track the activities performed on social media and instant messaging apps including Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Skype, Yahoo, Line, Viber, Tinder, Kik, IMO, Vine, Zalo and a few others.
Avoid Unsupervised Internet Access
Giving your kid access to the internet is not harmful but leaving them alone while using the internet or communicating with someone can be perilous. Stay involved in your kid’s internet activities and place the computer somewhere visible rather than in kids private rooms. Also, make your kid aware of the menaces of the internet, so he can protect himself when you are away.
Establish Internet Safety Rules
Make your own rules to be followed by the whole family members such as not allowing kids to talk to the strangers on the internet. Let your kids know they cannot share their photos, videos or any personal information like name, address or phone number on the web without informing parents. You may also wish to download the best vpn for china, or wherever in the world you are, to help protect their browser and data so that it will be safe while they (and you) are using their devices. Make sure your kid is not allowed to meet anyone in person who they meet online. Make them aware that there may be online child predators or bullies disguised as their friends or well-wishers. Make rules for the use of chat-rooms and social media sites, and if you do not want your kid to be there do not allow it. If you child gets threats or fleshly messages online, make sure he immediately aware you of it and show you instead of deleting or hiding it. More importantly, make sure that your kid follows these rules on all computers and not just on the computer at home.