Are Your Kids Cyber Smart?

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This past year and a half, students took a giant leap forward in becoming more tech literate. Online schooling, distance learning and hybrid schooling fast tracked kids in their tech skills and students became more well versed in navigating the internet. While these are amazing advancements we are seeing as a society, parents must ask themselves if their child is cyber smart? Does your child know how to use the internet safely? 

October marks Cyber Safety Month and is a good time to take a look at whether or not you and your family are practicing cyber safety. 

Most, if not all, school-aged children will use a device for schooling or education purposes on a regular basis these days. While there are many benefits for us and our children, it’s important that we teach children how to maintain proper, safe usage of technology. With all that’s possible over the internet, potential danger can make its way into your home without you even knowing it. This isn’t meant to scare you as parents, but to make you aware that it’s time to make sure your child is not just street smart, but cyber smart. 

A 2018 Google survey reported that teachers now consider cyberbullying to be the #1 classroom safety problem. - Enough is Enough

Cyberbullying is not the only thing to look out for our kids. There’s an entire list of cyber categories that Enough is Enough breaks down that parents need to be aware of: social media, online gaming, mobile devices, online predators and several more. 

This topic may feel overwhelming for parents because the internet is vast and there are plenty of ways for kids to encounter inappropriate media or engage in risky behavior. However, there is hope! With the right steps and the proper security measures, we can set our children up for success to safely enjoy the many advantages of technology.

Becoming cyber smart is possible for even those who are not tech savvy. As parents, we need to start the process by committing to learning internet safety for our kids and for ourselves. 

If you already have a cyber safety protocol for your child or you’re just getting started, these basics will help serve as a springboard to make sure your child is doing their part in being cyber smart.

BASICS OF CYBER SAFETY FOR KIDS

1. Establish rules

A good place to start with training your child to be cyber smart is to begin with the basics of internet safety. Enough is Enough has a list of guidelines categorized by age group.

Write down a list of rules for your child. Make sure to go over this list before allowing usage of any devices or technology so they are on the same page with you as far as parental/child expectations. If you have a child that has already been using the internet, it’s not too late to create a list and go over guidelines you need them to follow. Make sure to explain that this is for their safety and that you are doing this out of love.

Some things to consider when establishing internet usage rules are:

• Consider what type of devices and software does your child use

• Create time or physical boundaries for internet usage (i.e. only connect in public areas of the home, no internet usage after 10pm, etc.)

• Giving the “don’t talk to strangers” talk

If you need a place to start, this checklist has a comprehensive list designed for parents to use with their children.

2. Communicate regularly

According to the folks at Internet Safety 101, it is essential to keep the lines of communication open with your children. It’s important to establish trust and have honest dialogue so that you can keep your children protected. As parents, we want our children to feel safe to share openly with us so we can guide them on the right path or intervene when it’s necessary. Make sure to be explicit with your kids that they can come to you. Kids and sometimes teens may lack the maturity to spot danger when they are online.

Having regular communication establishes trust over time and gives children a chance to share what’s going on in their lives. 

Developing awareness of your child’s online social communities, gaming communities, and what software they’re engaging in will give you a foot in the door to keep a better eye on their whereabouts.

3. Set parental controls and filters

Setting parental controls and filters are easy nowadays. There are tons of software, paid and free, that you can download to use for your child’s devices or throughout the home. 

However, you don’t need to just rely on third-party software to protect your child. Most devices have parental control options and even google has google family where you can create age-appropriate filters when your child uses the search engine. 

There is a wide range of ways to set parameters for your children and keep them accountable when using the internet. Parental control options can include time limits, age-appropriate filters, banned web pages, approved contact lists, and many more.  Again, this leads back to our first tip, establishing rules. If you do not want your children using the internet in the middle of the night while you’re asleep, you can set time limits. Customize safety controls for what’s appropriate for your child’s age and for your family.

4. Practice cyber safety (as a parent)

As you teach your child cyber safety rules, make sure that you have your ducks in a row as the parent. Are you using strong passwords for all your accounts? Do you have a list of all your internet connected devices in your home and are they all protected? It’s easy to overlook some of these safety rules as the list of internet connected devices continues to grow year after year. In my household alone, we can see our kids in their rooms, turn on the A/C and open and close our in-laws garage door all from the comfort of our smartphones. When we realize how many loved ones are vulnerable to the access our phones have, it’s a wake up call to make sure everything we use is secured. 

For a household cyber safety checklist, head to Stay Safe Online for a comprehensive guide to make sure you’re doing your part in being cyber smart. 

As you become familiar with the technology and devices your children use, you will get a better handle on how to safeguard their internet usage. Ultimately, you want to pass the baton to your kids so they can independently be cyber smart. Building a good foundation will follow your kids or teens into young adulthood, so start building these good habits now.

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