The internet was truly established to be a force for good. Unfortunately, there were unintended consequences of the establishment of the internet. The internet has helped us keep up to date with current events, with long lost friends, finding great deals, and so much more. The internet has also been used as a force for evil. Unfortunately, there have been people with bad intentions on the internet. We believe the internet created more pedophiles or predators, but this is not true. The unintended consequence of the internet gave pedophiles and predators a new way to commit their evil deeds. That is why we must take steps to protect the most vulnerable among us, our children. The internet is a great place for our children to learn and discover new things as long as we are taking proper precautions while they are on the internet. I want to go over a few things that can help keep your kids safe on the internet.
Having internet rules is very important. Before you start letting your child onto the internet, you need to set up do’s and don’t’s. We always encourage our kids to the truth, which is a good thing. But, when it comes to the internet, you may want to reconsider. Nowadays, you cannot access or play very much without having an account made. If you are setting up an account for your child, makeup information to fill the obligation of the account creation. Using your child’s name or state of residence is very dangerous. Limit time your child can be on the internet or online gaming. This limits their exposure to potential bad things and also keeps them active in the real world. If you do limit their time, it is also a good idea to change the time of day they are on. This helps avoid a pattern and stops predators from being able to track your child’s online behavior. Make sure your child always has to share their username and passwords to all of their accounts.
Another great way to protect your children is by using URL filters. URL filters can stop your children from going to websites that are not approved by you. The filters are a great way to protect your children from seeing things that are harmful to them.
Having a VPN Service for your child’s devices can make sure they cannot be tracked. The VPN will secure all of their web traffic and make it impossible for a predator to find the location of your child. It also secures all of their data as it goes across the internet.
Mobile device Management- Setup software on your child’s mobile device, so you can monitor and manage their device. If your child decides to change their lock password, with the Mobile Device Management you can get rid of the lock off of their phone. You can limit their phone time, block certain applications, websites, and more. With the geo-location option, you can always see where your child is.
The last thing we will cover is to monitor their activity. You are the parent and they have no expectation of privacy besides what you grant them. The better they do and the more you trust them, the more privacy you can give them. They may not understand it at first, but we as parents are the first line of defense in protecting our children.
The internet is a great place for our kids to learn. But, we must do our due diligence in protecting our children from those who wish them harm.
