Central Alarm Inc. is interested not only in your home security, but the safety and security of your entire family, which includes keeping your family safe on the internet.
Whether we like it or not, being connected is now a big part of life, and even more so for our children. The people that your kids interact with are likely using the internet far more than you are to discover sources of entertainment, which can quickly become a negative influence.
We’re looking to help you build good strategic tips to help successfully navigate the internet with your kids.
Introduce Your Children to the Internet
A good rule of thumb is to be the primary resource to introduce your kids to the internet. Researching safe websites that your kids can enjoy first, and then showing them what they can do can go a long way to being involved in sharing what they discover.
Set Expectations with your Kids Online Behavior
It’s recommended that you verbally set expectations for kids that include the type of content that they can watch and how they will behave online. It’s important to set not just the types of websites that children can visit, but also the amount of time they can spend. For example, a child that is left alone to watch YouTube for 3 hours can easily end up finding negative content they shouldn’t be watching.
Also, set expectations for how kids will act while playing games, chatting with friends, etc. The earlier we can teach respectful boundaries when it comes to online behavior, the fewer problems we can hopefully avoid in the future.
Talk to your Kids about Safety
Be VERY specific when it comes to what is safe and unsafe behavior online. This includes:
- Never send photos of yourself or others online through a chat or to someone you do not personally know at school, church, youth activities, etc.
- Never disclose personal information about you, your family, your behaviors, where you go to school to anyone online.
- Do not accept any invitation to meet anyone online unless that person is already someone the child knows, and a relationship the parent is aware of exists.
- Ask your kids to report any kind of cyber bullying they see. You may not take action immediately, but you are able to gauge whether or not it’s necessary to get involved.
We’ll be including more tips in the coming weeks so stay tuned. In the meantime, stay safe both online and off!
