Never before has it been more important for parents to be as aware (if not more) than their children about the possible dangers of the internet. There are a number of strategies you can pursue to allow you to protect your children in the ever-evolving world of technology. In the meantime, as a parent you can empower yourself by helping your children manage their online activities.
1.Establish Innocence Before Guilt
Be aware of the ways your children can cover their tracks online such as by deleting internet history. If you check this on a regular basis you may be able to assert whether or not your children are hiding something from you. If not, you may feel comfortable granting them a higher level of independence as they go about learning more online functions.
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2. Talk About Privacy
You could talk to your children about the issue of online privacy depending on the relationship you have with them. If your children are comfortable with your supervision they might grant you access to their email accounts or online social media accounts. If not, try requesting permission to enhance their privacy settings such as changing profiles to private, making profile pictures viewable only to friends or removing their pages from search engines.
3. Get Your Child Out Of The House
You have probably heard yourself saying, ‘We never had the internet when I was a kid. Life was so much funner.’ Well get your children outside, take them to the beach or a park, play games together, do the things you did as a child instead of complaining how boring they are! You’ll give them the opportunity to create wonderful childhood memories as well as the ability to understand how important it is to be active offline.
4. Purchase Software
If you are extremely concerned about how your child is using the internet you could purchase online protection software designed to automatically detect and block inappropriate sites. There a range of options for you to pursue in terms of price and function. However do not forget that sidestepping your child could lead to larger problems in your relationship.
Establishing trust is undeniably the best option when it comes to your child’s online activity – even more so when his or her use of the internet extends well beyond the computers you are able to monitor.
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5. Don’t Buy A New Computer When The Old One Explodes
Notebook computers have allowed business people and other internet-dependent workers to transport their work from the office to home. And more so than ever, schools are equipped with the latest batch of computers for use by your child.
So if you don’t need a home computer, why have one? If you did choose to remove the home computer from your lives you might just find that your household dynamics become a lot more personal and a lot less tech. Communication between you and your child might improve and all your internet-based woes could disappear for good. But don’t get too comfortable! As we know, technology is always changing and it could make its way back into your home in a new form.
