How Can You Ensure Your Child Is Using Technology Safely? (Guest Post)

Since
technology has become an integral part of every day life and children
will, in one way or another, be exposed to technology, it’s
important to talk to them and take measures to protect them so they
can feel safe when using technology and you can feel confident
they’re using it responsibly.

For
more information on eSafety there are many websites out there
offering tips on child safe websites such
as Quib.ly:
a community website for parents and professionals to ask questions
and get answers about raising happy, healthy children in this
super-connected, global age.

What
is eSafety?

ESafety,
online safety or electronic safety are the measures taken to ensure
that younger people aren’t exposed to age inappropriate materials
on the internet and are protected from schemes, fraud and people who
may have the intention of hurting them.

Why
you should teach your children about eSafety

Some
of the most common concerns that come with Internet use are:

• Cyber
  stalking and Cyber bullying

• Potentially
  damaging websites or links that can infect your computer with
  viruses

• Distasteful
  and vulgar content

• Identity
  theft

• Illegal
  activity like downloading music or movies

What
measures you can take as a parent

• The
  first thing you can do as a parent is ensure that your home computer
  and technological devices have up-to date antivirus software running
  on them as well as a firewall active (included in most antivirus
  software packages).

• Determine
  at what age you feel your child should be entitled to privacy.
  Before this age you could make it so you have access to their social
  media accounts, emails and phone records. This way you can monitor
  their activity and know if they’re engaging in any illegal or
  potentially dangerous activity as well as if there is someone
  harassing them. It can be difficult to monitor teenagers as this
  may fuel arguments about mistrust so maybe find a compromise that
  unless they give you a reason not to trust them you should allow
  them to have privacy.

• Look
  into parental
  control software
  that can filter, set time limits and monitor sites your child is
  accessing.

• Don’t
  allow for them to access your credit card information.

Some
important lessons to teach your children

• Teach
  them not to open links they receive by email from contacts they do
  not know.

• Not
  to share personal information like their age, national insurance
  number, address or phone number with people they do not know very
  well.

• Explain
  to them that what they post on their social media profiles today can
  come back to haunt them in the future.

• Show
  them how to alter privacy settings on websites they are signed up
  on.

• Explain
  to them that they should uphold the same moral values and socially
  acceptable behaviours online as they would in real life. Ie.
  Harassing their peers and engaging in illegal activity like
  downloading media.

• That
  posting their location can prove dangerous in the event they are
  being cyber stalked.

• Tell
  them they aren’t allowed to make any purchases online without your
  consent.