In our increasingly mobile world, internet safety is harder than ever.
Gone are the days where you could just set up the family computer in the living room and keep an eye on what your kids were doing; now, smartphones and tablets give them easy access to the internet from anytime, anywhere. The changing nature of going online calls for new rules.
Follow these safety tips to keep your kids safe online.
1. Talk to them about safe browsing
Safe browsing habits start with a conversation about what is and is not acceptable online behavior. Talk to your kids about these topics as soon as they’re old enough to browse the internet on their own, and reinforce them with frequent reminders.
Privacy
Kids shouldn’t have any identifying information in screen names or bios. Even using their birth year in a visible username or “handle” could let anyone they interact with figure out how old they are.
Social media sharing
Social networks don’t allow kids to join until they’re 13. If they’re old enough to use Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and other social networks, speak to them about what they share and how they should assume everything they put online is permanent.
Cyberbullying
Kids should know that they should talk to you whenever anyone makes them uncomfortable online, whether it’s someone they know in real life or otherwise.
Security
Teach your kids about common phishing tactics so they don’t accidentally give away their account information, and make sure they know not to download unknown files from anyone or anywhere.
2. Set limits
Just like limiting screen time can help kids be more active and engage with their peers, limiting internet time can make it easier to keep an eye on what they’re doing. Setting Wi-Fi to not connect automatically prevents them from going online without permission.
3. Know what they’re doing
We don’t recommend monitoring your children’s every activity here, but rather knowing how the websites and apps your kids use work and what exactly they can do with them. If your kids are using Instagram or Snapchat, set up an account of your own and become familiar with the unique aspects of each service.
4. Use a password manager
Password security is a problem even adults struggle with. Teaching your kids to use a password manager will prevent them from using weak, easily-guessed passwords that could put their personal information at risk.
5. Password protect app stores
Forcing the app store to ask for your password for all apps prevents your kids from downloading new apps you aren’t familiar with.
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