Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Internet is an amazing thing, containing the collective knowledge and wisdom of the entire humanity. At the same time, it’s a dangerous place filled with all sorts of things that are definitely not appropriate for your kids. It is your responsibility as a parent to protect yoru kids from these harmful influences but how do you do this? Well, here are the top seven ways that most experts agree can be pretty effective. 

source

Install a spy app

First of all, if you’re worried about whether this is legal, a parent installing a spy app on their kid’s phone is the only legal It’s legal application of a spy app. Now, when it comes to morality, this is debatable. Still, it is definitely more moral than ignoring the fact that your kid may be consuming problematic content without doing anything about it.

According to tech expert Krishi Chowdhary from Techopedia, picking any software from the list of the best spy apps will do the job; it’s just your activity that will make a difference.

These apps will allow you to see what they do when they think you’re not watching. In other words, it gives you a more accurate depiction of their actual digital behavior. 

Remember that they don’t ever have to find out if you’re subtle enough. Even if you discover something, you don’t ever have to disclose how you found out. Most importantly, it gives you peace of mind and cognition that you’ve done your part. 

Set up parental controls

There are so many tools that you can use to block inappropriate content. For instance, platforms like Nintendo Switch give you a master account as a parent and a child’s account that is heavily supervised. They can’t buy a game without your permission, which gives you a much greater level of control.

At the same time, some software allows you to impose parental controls on all the platforms that your kids use.

This way, you can do more than just limit the type of content that they can use. You can also limit their screen time. This can help you create a better routine for your kids.

This way, you can also monitor app downloads, and you can customize settings by their age. In other words, the older they get, the more control you can give them. 

Educate them about online dangers

You can’t deny your kids a smartphone; it’s just not a good thing to do in the 21st century. Them learning about the digital world is the prerequisite to their future success. Don’t deny them this potential edge.

Give your kids a phone, but also show them how to use it. You want them to know about cyberbullying and what they should do when they encounter it. You want to tell them that they shouldn’t click on strange links and explain how.

Most importantly, you want to warn them about online predators. This is a hard topic to start with, but it’s something that they need to hear about from you and not someone else. 

You also need to explain privacy risks. There are some things that they just shouldn’t share, no matter how old they are. Funnily enough, a lot of these tips will be applicable throughout their life. It’s like teaching them how to swim or ride a bike. 

Use strong, unique passwords

This is also a great opportunity for you to teach them how to make proper passwords. Throughout their lives, they’ll make hundreds of passwords, and if you instill the right principles, you can do them a huge favor. You just have to teach them to avoid easy-to-guess phrases and prefer unique (one per platform) and random (hard-to-guess) passwords.

Teach them password security, and you’ll do them the biggest cybersecurity favor ever.

At the same time, you may want to have some passwords that they shouldn’t know. So, make sure to apply the same principle in order to protect them from themselves. Once again, you have to lead by example. 

Monitor social media usage

One of the most important responsibilities of a parent in a digital world is to check the friend lists of their kids regularly. Simply put, your kids don’t have friends and acquaintances that you don’t know of. If you notice someone you don’t know, ask them directly and wait for an explanation. 

Next, you want to review their privacy settings. What is visible to people who are not on their friend list? Ideally, no one who’s not vetted already should be able to see a thing. Sure, this likely won’t be the case, but it’s still a line in the sand you shouldn’t cross. 

Even among their friends, they shouldn’t share absolutely anything. Make sure to discuss appropriate content with them. Tell them what’s okay and what’s not okay to upload and share. It doesn’t even matter if they’ve created the content.

They should also limit sharing of personal information in correspondences. This is something you need to teach them ASAP. 

Utilize a VPN for secure browsing

You want to teach yoru kids about the dangers of keeping their IP address exposed. Tell them what swatting is, as well as what doxxing is, and warn them that it could happen to them. Tell them that a VPN protects their IP address and that they should use it when online. 

Other than this, VPN also encrypts online activities. So, when they’re using the internet, in general, having a VPN installed might be of great help.  

Another thing that this does is bypass geographical restrictions. Sure, you want your kids restricted to the corners of the internet you deem safe, but geo-restrictions won’t always do that. 

Now remember, you’re not doing anything illegal or strange. You’re simply teaching them how to add an extra layer of security to their online activity. Adults may have to learn about the advantages of anonymous casinos over regular online sites and apps, but for kids, the perks of using antivirus and VPN are all they need. 

Keep devices in common areas

Another thing you need to understand is that young kids have a harder job getting a secret device. It’s less likely that a friend will have a spare device to give them, and they won’t have enough pocket money to buy a smartphone. This is why, if you keep the device in a common area, it will be pretty easy to supervise.

This way, you can encouragee responsible usage without having to display too much hard-power. The device is there… because it’s there and it’s nothing against them. Even you have to go to the common area when you want to use them. This is also a great way to show them that the rules are not just there to oppress them. You have to abide by them, as well.

Keeping your kids safe is your utmost responsibility

Sure, you have to trust your kids, give them privacy, and talk to them; however, as a parent, you need to be able to handle the truth. There’s a reason why you’re their guardian and why you are responsible for them. It’s in the kid’s nature to be inquisitive and try to bypass parental restrictions and rules. You just have to be one step ahead of them and, in the age of the internet, this is more important than it ever was.