We all face potential risks when we are online. These include malware, phishing scams, and spam emails. But there are other dangers for children. Children are not yet as experienced and are therefore usually less careful when sharing information, replying to fraudulent messages, or clicking on links.
And there are still common threats that directly affect children. This includes such obvious things as pornography, violence, and drugs, but also websites that deal with self-harm and even suicide. Unfortunately, inappropriate content is always just a few clicks away: Unwanted content can appear directly next to harmless search results such as “Benjamin Blümchen,” “Dora,” or “Wickie and the strong men,” which our children can of course see.
Also, children are often exposed to banner ads on the pages they visit. You may be wondering what fraudsters hope for when they display contextual ads for children. Quite simply: many children use their parents’ credit cards so that they become a worthwhile goal. Fraudsters who want to sell counterfeit products and services to children are not the biggest problem at all – instead, the children who search online for things like computer games, books, and films are. They not only browse but also buy goods directly in programs and games.
To save kids from all the hazards mentioned above, here we present you eight working tips that can help you keep your kids safe online. Have a look at these here.
8 tips for online safety for your children
- Talk to your children about potential dangers.
- Get involved in your children’s online activities from the start so that this is quite normal for the children. This also makes it easier for you to advise them.
- Encourage your children to talk about their online experience, especially anything that worries or threatens them.
- Today’s all-sharing culture can be found everywhere. Children do not recognize the dangers of excessive communication as instinctively as adults. It is, therefore, important that you explain the potential problems to them.
- Set clear ground rules for what your children can and cannot do online and explain to them why you set these rules up. These rules should also be adapted to the age of your children over the following years.
- Use parental control apps such as FamilyTime to enforce specific rules: how long (and when) your children can be online, what content, and what activities (such as chats, forums, etc.) should be blocked. The filters of parental controls can be adapted for different profiles so that each of your children can have their own filters.
- Encourage your children to monitor their privacy settings on social networks, so that shared posts are only visible to certain friends and family members.
- Everyday experience versus technological experience: You are probably aware of the potential pitfalls of the Internet, but your children may be better able to deal with new technologies. Encourage the exchange of information so that you can learn from each other.