How to Ensure Responsible Internet Use for Children

The internet helped ensure that your child’s education was uninterrupted during recurring COVID-19 lockdowns. Everything from education to entertainment can be accessed online. But how can you, as a parent, make sure that your child stays safe online?

Be it mature or inappropriate content, financial fraud, or scams, or simply too much screen time, there are many pitfalls to online access and related safety. In order to safeguard their online experience, you can use parental controls, encourage healthy online behavior, educate your child about cyberbullying, doxxing, and other anti-social online activities, and promote open communication between yourself and your child so that they feel safe about trusting you or another responsible adult (such as a teacher) with their online activity.

Here are a few ways by which you can ensure safe and responsible online experiences:

1. Use parental controls

Parental control digital solutions monitor your child’s internet usage, block inappropriate content and websites, regulate screen time, and allow you to effectively manage your child’s online activities. Norton Family , Kaspersky Safe Kids, Net Nanny , and Qustudio are some of the most popular parental control platforms.

You can track search and browsing histories, restrict access to harmful websites, and establish screen time schedules. Several platforms also have dedicated mobile apps to help you stay updated about your child’s internet activities, ensuring a secure online environment.

You should also set up a child-profile, use child-friendly search engines, and turn on SafeSearch in order to filter out any harmful or inappropriate content.

2. Educate your child about potential online risks

It is extremely important to talk your child about the risks associated with internet usage. This can range from conversations around cyberbullying, trolling, and doxxing, to online exploitation and extortion, misinformation and fake news, scams and malware, and inappropriate or harmful content. Help your child understand what information is safe to share online and with whom.

An open and honest conversation about the risks of internet use will make your child more careful online, help them to better identify potential threats, and feel safe communicating with you in case of any suspicious or anti-social behavior.

3. Encourage healthy, responsible behavior online

Promoting good online behavior is something that every parent should be actively engaged in.

Explain to your child that every online action – be it a comment, a photo, or even simply liking or disliking a post – leaves a ‘digital footprint’. Before they do or say anything, they should ask themselves whether they would do the same thing offline. If not, then they probably shouldn’t do it online either.

Bad behavior begets bad behavior in return, online or offline. Toxic comments, trolling, or other unhealthy behavior online by your child can provoke malicious responses. Teach your child to be kind and supportive online.

4. Protect your devices, networks, and data

Basic cybersecurity best practices will go a long way towards protecting your child’s online experience. Update all your software to fix any bugs and have the latest security features. Install antivirus software on all your devices, in order to protect your child from viruses and malware.

Use strong passwords for all your accounts and services. Additionally, you can enable 2-step verification for an extra layer of protection against hacking, or in case your password is stolen.

Turn off location services on apps. This ensures that your child’s location cannot be found or accessed by strangers online.

Keep webcams and cameras covered when not in use. Use a cloth or just place a sticker over the webcam to protect yourself and your child against the possibility of webcam hackers.

In today’s increasingly digital world, children have access to the internet from a very young age. Parents have a responsibility to ensure that their children are able to use the internet for education and entertainment without being exposed to inappropriate content, harmful online behavior , or being scammed or otherwise taken advantage of. Encouraging good and safe online behavior is equally important. Using technology, maintaining an open channel of communication, and implementing strong online security measures will go a long way toward ensuring that your child uses the internet in a safe, responsible, and overall positive way.