If you are a parent, you always try to abide with all the parenting guidelines people tell you. However, this may be hard for you. In today’s world, inevitably, children go online to do various things. They connect with friends on social media, do school research, play online games, and many more. Although the Internet has made so many things possible, as parents, we worry about the risks and adverse effects on our children’s lives.
To start, you need to do to decrease risks is to discuss the matter at hand. Good parenting methods are important. Speak to your kids about what they should and should not do when they are on the Internet. Parenting requires you to establish rules. Learn about the things that they are currently doing online and discuss them.
Monitor Your Children When They Go Online
Children like to demonstrate their abilities. And when you are paying attention to what they are doing online, they willingly show you what they know. Let them educate you some of the web applications they use, what websites they check out, and the media files they download for entertainment.
Next, let your children know the rules regarding Internet use. You can create one, or you can look online for a ready-made version to download. Once you have it printed, you and your kids can run through each rule to make sure everyone understands it.
Parenting Guidelines in Keeping Your Children’s Online Safety
1. Make sure your kid does not invest all of his or her time on the computer.
They should still make friends with other kids instead of being around their gadgets all the time.
Many parents use the Internet as a tool to get the kids occupied, much like the TV. When we have other things to do, it is to get our kids engrossed with educational or useful things. But make sure they are not giving too much time on the computer.
2. Place the computer in an area where it can be supervised, like the living room or kitchen area.
Don’t put it in your kid’s bedroom where it is hard for you to see what he or she is doing online.
3. Try to learn enough about computer systems so you can appreciate them together with your children.
Sit down with your kids and let them educate you more. You will be amazed at how willing they will be to demonstrate you their capabilities. We all like to talk a bit, and kids are no different.
Have them explain to you the best way to search for things and identify them. Spend time with them, and let them educate you.
4. Advise them to be cautious about their online activities and talk about the risk of meeting up an online friend offline unless you are with them.
Although this appears to be like sound judgment, many kids meet with their online buddies by themselves. And this causes severe security and safety problems.
5. Observe your kids when they are on the Internet and see which websites they visit.
Understanding what your kids are doing online will help you figure out why they go online and how they are using the Internet. Are your kids going online for schoolwork, socialisation or entertainment?
Parenting Requires Communication with Your Kids
6. You try to keep your children out of chat rooms or IRC programs unless they are supervised.
This appears to be like a definite rule. Hyperlinks to unsuitable websites are published in these rooms and on the IRC programs. Residents exchange information that are not only unsuitable but unlawful as well. Certain websites organize supervised forums for kids. However, these should be approved by the parents.
7. Encourage conversations between you and your kid about what they appreciate on the Internet.
Maintaining open communication with your kids about their preferences on the net increases online action for the kid, and gives you a peace of mind.
8. Educate them what details they can discuss with others online and what they cannot – like contact numbers, addresses, complete name, school, etc.
No information about your kid should be given out online regardless of what it would be. Inform your children that this is one of the most important rules that must be followed to protect their safety.
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9. Make time to know their “online friends” just as you get to know all of their other buddies.
Since we want to know who our children are hanging out with at school, we should also know who they are chatting with online. Have your child explain who these friends are. Ask them where they met them, and why they like talking with them. Some signs that they may be speaking to people they should not be talking to could be the sudden shutdown of the computer when you walk by or switching screens on the computer.
You need to be cautious if your children get phone calls from people you don’t know, or they receive gifts from people you do not know in the mail. These are common signs with predators over the Internet.
10. Inform them that people may not be what they seem to be and that people they talk to online are not their friends, and they must be extra careful.
Even though almost all kids on the Internet have pretended to be someone else, they seem to believe their online buddies easily. As a parent, you have to warn them that a lot of individuals make pretentions online and are not who they say they are.
Talk It Out
Talk about these guidelines to your kids will help them understand why these rules need to be implemented. It also helps open their minds to the reality that the Internet can bring harm and trouble when not used responsibly. Parenting is hard in this modern age, but it does not mean it is not possible.
