Most homes have access to the internet nowadays, and parents should be aware that it can present real dangers to their children. Of course, the internet can be a very useful tool; there are websites that have been created for children, and youngsters often go online when seeking background information for their homework, while social media enables them to keep in touch with one another. However, the cyber world can be a dangerous place. There are some sites that are most definitely not for the eyes of the young, and the exploits of online groomers and cyberbullying have been well documented in the press. Most online gambling sites that you visit now have secure policies that prevent children from accessing their online games but you must still be careful. So as a parent, you must consider just how you can prepare your children for going online.
The simple way for you to protect your children from the dangers of the online world is to keep them from the family laptop. This may be easy if you have very young children, but as they grow older, they will discover their friends have online access, and quite possibly they will have some sort of access to the internet at school. So your best option is to prepare your children for safe use of the internet. This means introducing the technology into their lives at an early age.
As a good parent, you will want to know what your children see and hear while online. While they are very young, you will no doubt also want to be with them while online. One reason is that a child can quite easily access an inappropriate site quite by accident. A quite innocent word or phrase could be googled and the search result could throw up the type of website you would not want any of your children to see. However, you cannot be leaning on your children’s shoulder forever, especially as they grow older and become more independent. Then it is a case of the good parent using the technology available to prevent their offspring from becoming exposed to cyber dangers.
The technology does offer protection for your children while online, with many ISP’s providing filters. You can also use a secret password for the family computer to prevent unauthorised usage. When your children are old enough to have their own laptops, you can ensure the various filters are set up to prevent any inappropriate usage. By doing this, you can ensure that children do not accidentally – or when they get older, deliberately – visit any “adult” or online gambling sites with games such as UK scratchcards after you have finished with the computer.
The days when children could only enjoy the internet by switching on the family PC or laptop are over. Many youngsters nowadays proudly sport the latest smartphone, often a Christmas or birthday present from loving parents. If your children have smartphones, you will no doubt be aware that they can be used to surf the internet. Therefore, you should take the same care in making sure the appropriate filters are in place as with any computer.
Being a good parent means always seeking to keep children safe, and that includes when using the internet. This means supervising when necessary, giving advice at a level children will understand and using the online safeguards available.
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