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Just like in the physical world, we want the time our children spend online to be as safe as possible. Keeping up with all the fads and apps our children come across can be stressful, but don't worry! There are some online safety practices you can use to help your children stay safe from inappropriate content, viruses and scams.
Supervising your children online is one of the most effective ways to keep them safe from cyber threats. It's easier to keep them safe if you can be there to make sure they're following the best safety practices. However, it's important to remember that there are many ways to supervise your children online. Here are some Internet safety tips to help you keep an eye on your children:
- Being online together: Take some time to go online with your child, especially when they are young. You can play games together, check out a family member's social networks or watch YouTube videos for the whole family.
- Keep devices in common spaces: Place computers and Internet access points in central places in your home, such as the dining room. Eliminate the expectation of privacy when it comes to online activity early on.
- Know what they use: Check the apps, websites and games your children are using. Pay close attention to anything with chat features or the ability to share personal information or images.
- Be vigilant: For teenagers using social networks, check their profiles and posts occasionally. What are they posting? Who is interacting with them? Think about setting rules about who they can add to their online social network, for example, only family members or people they know in real life. Watch out for signs of overuse or social stress, such as withdrawn behavior, outbursts, anxiety and depression.
- Set limits: Use the security features and privacy settings provided by apps, websites, devices and your internet service provider. These can help you create protective barriers even when you can't be there.
Just like in the face-to-face world, you can't always be with your child when they're online. That's why it's good to help children understand online dangers, safety protocols and when to involve a trusted adult as early as possible.
Children and teenagers don't have to become cybersecurity experts to use the Internet safely for fun and learning. They just need some basic security knowledge. Understanding what phishing scams and viruses are, when to give out personal information and when to block or report a person who makes them feel uncomfortable can go a long way towards keeping them safe.
Here are some more tips on how to help your children understand Internet safety:
- Parental controls: Parental controls are now integrated into computers, mobile devices, Internet service providers, app stores, social networking sites and games. You can adjust privacy settings to create parameters regarding screen time and the websites children can visit, and even configure mobile devices to ask you to approve new apps they want to download.
- Online privacy: There may be a time when it's OK to give out a phone number, address or even a social security number - like when you make a credit card purchase on a trusted website - but most of the time it's better to keep this information private. The same applies to personal photos, videos or details of your private life. Explain to your children that once something is put on the Internet, it can be permanent - even if you delete it.
They should also know that activities or information they considered private can become public in the event of hacking, someone using spyware or transferring sensitive data over a public Wi-Fi network. Keep operating systems and antivirus software up to date, limit the use of public Wi-Fi and create strong passwords to help keep private data safe.
- Avoid suspicious activity: Internet security is as much about the people you interact with as how you interact with them. Social networks, online forums and chat rooms can pose a risk to minors when it comes to online predators, scammers and hackers. Children should be aware that not everyone tells the truth about their online identity.
Although scams and abuse can happen right in front of our eyes, they can also be discreet. The warning signs are if someone insists on communicating with your child via direct messaging or instant messaging applications with end-to-end encryption, or if they request personal information or any monetary transaction. Similarly, if they ask your child to click on a link or download something, this could be suspicious.
Monitor your child's online activity and the people they interact with to keep some of these threats at bay. Also, give children the ability to say no to inappropriate requests. Tell them that they should come to you or a trusted adult if someone makes them feel uncomfortable.
- Stay one step ahead of scammers: Phishing scams are becoming more popular. These scams occur when a criminal tries to convince you that they are someone else in order to obtain information about you. These scams can occur through phone calls and text messages, but online they are usually done by luring you to an imitation of a trusted website.
These phishing scams can be avoided by typing URLs directly, opening your bookmarks or visiting your application instead of clicking on links, especially when you log in to your social networks. Check the address bar to make sure the URL is correct before entering your login information.
Remind your child that these scams exist and that even something that looks official can be a trick. Maintaining a healthy dose of skepticism whenever someone asks for personal information is a solid Internet safety skill to teach your children.
Teaching your children Internet safety is just as important as keeping them safe outdoors. As we spend more of our lives on the Internet, it becomes vital to understand how to navigate viruses, scams and predators. By teaching your children to keep their devices up to date, making them select their social networks carefully and keeping personal information private, the Internet can become a safe space for your children.
At MoneyDog, ensuring children's safety is one of the pillars of our mission. In a landscape increasingly rife with scams and get-rich-quick schemes, we provide your children with online tools to learn how to save, budget and invest, all in a safe environment and under full parental control.
Try MoneyDog today, and guide your children towards financial education while giving parents peace of mind.
