Although technology has brought about many benefits, it’s undeniable that it also poses many dangers, not only to you but to your children too. How do you protect your child from online bullying? Do you know what dangers your child could face online?
This article will cover some of the dangers your child might face online and tips to protect them, such as using a VPN like Duck Duck Go VPN, teaching them about cyberbullying and ensuring a healthy line of communication. Keep reading to learn more about internet safety for parents and kids in 2023.
The Digital Landscape Today
While technology has always been something kids have been drawn to, like the old GameBoys, for example, the use of technological devices and the dependency on them is unprecedented. You, as a parent, no doubt use a range of devices for work and entertainment reasons, including laptops, desktops, and mobile phones.
However, today, kids as young as 4 know how to operate mobile devices, and the need for tablets or laptops in the classroom is increasing. Technology definitely increases the learning potential for children, but also the dangers if there are no protocols or safeguards in place that you can set as the parent.
Online Dangers
To protect your children, the first place to start is to understand the potential dangers your kids could face. For example, your children could face any of these:
- Cyber predators
- Cyberbullying
- Posting private information
- Downloading viruses and malware accidentally
- Falling for scams
- Posting content online that is nearly impossible to remove
Children develop basic reasoning skills at about 7, and only begin the stage of fully developing those at around 10. There’s still a long way to go before they begin to reason closely with adults if they successfully navigate through those developmental stages. In other words, you’ll need to monitor their online activity without invading privacy as they get older and pay attention to their behavior for any sign of trouble.
Tips for Parents
The first thing you can do is try to explain these dangers to them as best you can and let them know they can talk to you at any time without worrying about being in trouble. Keeping an open, honest line of communication is important to make your kids feel safe to talk to you about whatever they are experiencing.
It would also be a good idea to set internet restrictions for certain topics and websites. These filters will block search results that are inappropriate for kids which are quite harmful. Kids will likely click on links and download files without knowing it could be malware or viruses. As such, you should install antivirus software on their devices to protect them.
Using a VPN for both your device and your child is another way to add an extra layer of protection. VPN services will hide your IP address and act as a middleman between online connections, keeping the identity of you and your child safe.
Tips for Kids
To help your kids maintain safe online practices, the most important thing to tell them is to be careful about sharing any personal information: mobile numbers, street addresses, members of a household, where they go to school, etc.
Kids can be mean, and to protect your children from this, you can talk to them about what cyberbullying is, why it happens, and what they can do to deal with it.
Most importantly, you should ensure your kids understand that if they have any problems online, they are able to talk to you; the last thing you want is for your child to feel isolated.
Jessica has a flair for writing engaging blogs and articles. She enjoys reading and learning new things which enables her to write different topics and fields with ease. She also strives to break down complex concepts and make them easy for anybody to comprehend.
