What Steps Should Parents Take To Safeguard Their Children's Online Presence?

In today’s digital landscape, it’s impossible to not have an online presence, be it adults or children. According to a survey in 2022, almost 70% pre-teens in the USA use the internet and social media on a regular basis, with the number increasing to over 90% as they hit their teen years. With the over usage of the internet becoming normal for children these days, the question is, what are we as parents doing to ensure the safety of our children online?

If you too, are worried about your little ones and want to safeguard their online presence, here are some steps that you can take to ensure that your children are safe as they navigate through the maze of the online world.

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Educate Your Children
The first step to ensuring your children’s safety in an online setting is to educate them about the threats that surround them. Whether it’s telling them about the generics of online safety and how to conduct themselves online, or teaching them about serious topics like online predators and grooming, imparting knowledge about these dangers is essential to keep them safe.

Related: Increasing Number Of Children Falling Victim To Text Scams - Mobile Network Warns

Use Parental Control Applications

While teaching online safety is essential, children should also be monitored from time to time in order to ensure that they aren’t engaging with any inappropriate content or websites. By using the right parental control applications, you can actively monitor and filter the content that your children engage with.

You can also set time limits on the usage of the internet using tools that will ensure that your children are not consuming too much content. Another great tool to ensure protection of your children is by using a trustworthy online password manager which will not only protect your passwords from third parties but will also secure your and organise your passwords.

Use Anti - Malware Protection

Cyber threats are one of the biggest concerns of parents who let their children use social networking websites and the internet. While parental control apps can help reduce the usage of the internet, you need to install trustworthy antivirus software on your device. Whether you’re using a desktop or a laptop, every device needs ransomware protection.

These tools help to protect your device from any malicious content by consistently scanning for any threats, as well as checking whatever you’re downloading in the device for any viruses. These work to ensure that your kids not only go to any malicious websites, or click on any scam links, but also protect them from falling for any cyber threats or advanced attacks.

Communicate Boundaries
The most important thing to discuss with your children in regards to their online presence is boundaries that they need to keep. These include but are not limited to, not talking to any strangers on the internet, not sharing any personal information either with a person they don’t know nor on their social media handles. Clearly demarcating the lines between acceptable and unacceptable topics of conversation, as well giving them the space to discuss anything that bothers them with you.

Final Thoughts

Navigating the digital age is a learning experience, for both adults and children alike. However, as parents safeguarding our children’s online presence is of utmost importance. By keeping the channels of communication open, creating a safe space to discuss difficult topics, using anti malware tools, and making good use of parental control applications, it certainly is possible to keep our children safe from the threats that loom in cyberspace.

*Collaborative post

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