Today, the Internet is a powerful but dangerous tool for children. Surfing the net is the most common activity through these days and even more for kids and teenagers. They can get information, play online, chat with friends, learn about anything and meet new people among other. But, are these benefits? Is everything ok between children and the Internet? Nowadays, there are hundreds of problems within this monster. Children abuses, addiction, pedophiles, excessive gaming, cyber-bullying or trouble socializing are some of the common issues we can see among children and teenagers. According to important researches, almost the 75% of the young admit to know how to hide what they do online from their parents. Parents should know how to control children’s Internet use to protect them. So, here we give you some tips to be able to do it.
First of all, it is very important to place the computer in an open or public area where the screen can be easily viewed by others. Why? Not to spy your children but to be able to detect if something is not going fine. You can check their activities and if something is not appropriated for them you should have a sit and talked with them. To inform them and have a conversation with them is the second most important activity. They have to know that bad thing happen there and what they have to do if they are in a bad situation surfing the net. Thirdly, parents should set specific time for Internet use at home. You can get advantage of this rule and set the times when there is an adult around so the teen will be supervised. Talk with them to not give personal information or personal photos to anybody they do not know.
There are many things we can do to protect children from the Internet dangers. You should try installing a proper anti-virus with children protection. Millions of Internet pages are unsuitable for children. You have to control this access and be responsible. Many programs allow us to block websites that cannot be visited. This way, parents are able to avoid children ending up on one of these sites by accident. It is very easy to access these sites, do not punish or tell them off because of this.
Parents have to make sure to not impose restrictions but support the safety by sharing a positive experience of Internet use with their children.