These days it’s practically a given that children are going to grow up with the internet. While most parents make an effort to monitor what their kids are ingesting via the worldwide web, worried about what they might be exposed to, pretty much everyone can agree that the benefits of understanding this technology far outweigh the potential risks in the long run. After all, the world has changed significantly in the past twenty years, and kids who don’t have a solid base of knowledge concerning computers and the internet will not only suffer in school, but later in life. Not only is it an invaluable tool for gathering information on just about any subject, it is also quickly becoming a superhighway for communication across the globe. If your kids aren’t in on that from a very early age, they’re going to fall behind technologically and socially. And yet, you worry. How can you give you child the advantages the internet provides and still protect them?
It’s actually not as difficult as you might think. Of course you can’t have your eye on your kids 24/7. It’s just not practical, especially as they get older. So while you can certainly try to keep up with what they’re viewing and doing online, at some point they’re going to get away with looking at stuff you don’t want them to see, whether it’s at your house or at the house of a friend whose parents are a bit more lax. However, you can take precautions. There are many tools available that allow parents to block content that is inappropriate for children. For example, you can not only choose to block materials that are explicit or otherwise deemed inappropriate for kids; you can also get tools that help you to specify other areas that you don’t want your child wandering into, like chat rooms, news forums, and blogs, depending on what your personal preferences are concerning your child’s exposure to media, advertising, and so on.
But there’s more you can do. Blocking websites at home won’t stop your kids from looking when they’re out of the house. This is why you need to make an effort to explore the internet with your children and give them the information they need to make good decisions when you’re not with them. By explaining to your kids what to watch out for (strangers wanting to meet them, the ease with which people can lie, the dangers of entering personal information, how to separate legitimate emails from scams, and even the difference between trusted sites for information and those that have no citations) you can help them to make good decisions about the type of content they view online. You’ll not only keep them safe from content and communication that could be harmful, you’ll also ensure that they know how to use this technology in a smart and responsible manner.
Like any other area of life, you can’t protect your kids all the time. But you can certainly make sure that they’re armed with the tools they need to navigate the sometimes treacherous waters of the worldwide web. And in the long run, they’ll probably be able to do it better than you!
Sarah Danielson is a writer for SeaReach an asset protection company (view asset tag company here) and manufacturer of asset marking and security printing solutions.