10 Internet Safety Tips to Protect Kids Online

Internet Safety Guide for Mompreneurs

Women who are successful in business are sometimes too busy to spend much time with their children. Thus, children can sometimes look for friends elsewhere. Online games and virtual meetups have made the world a much smaller place. Internet availability and online relationships make it easy for kids to spend endless unsupervised hours on the Internet.

But how can you ensure that your child will be secure on the Internet and prevent them from being exposed to the biggest online threats in 2019?

These 10 tips will help mompreneurs to control their children’s use of the Internet.

Top 10 Internet Safety Tips

1. Install parental controls wherever you can.

The first thing every parent should do to keep the internet safe for kids is to install search engine filters.  Don’t forget to update the list of sites that are blocked and not allowed for your children.

Another way to check up on your kids is to review the browsing history after your kids have used the internet for short periods. An easy way to do that is when kids are at school. When you check the browser history, you can keep a close eye on what they have recently seen, and nip any security issue in the bud if something looks suspicious.

2. Speak about predators with your children.

The Internet is full of strangers and there are predators online who can harm you and your family. Online predators can misuse your kids’ personal data, images, and likenesses in harmful ways. Because there are predators out there, it’s important to have an open dialog with your kids. Sit down with them and warn your children against chatting with strangers on the network. Discourage them from sharing personal information at all costs. Teach them about their intuitive feelings: if something feels too familiar or close, to stop it and tell the online connection they’re going to get their mom. Open communication with your kids will encourage them to share details. Ask them to tell you about any unknown people who try to make friends or connect with them online.

3. Teach your children to identify scams.

If your children are teenagers, they probably send and receive e-mails. Thus, they should know that it’s necessary to avoid opening strange e-mails from unknown network users or at least, going through suspicious links there.

Not everyone is trustworthy – nor is every site. Often, kids are innocent and may not realize that signing up for free downloads, or subscribing to YouTube channels or podcasts shares their information to those lists. Lists connect like groups. So, your child may be contacted unknowingly. They may not realize they are at risk. This is why it’s important to discuss the dangers of scams with your children often.

4. Explain why your kids should keep personal data secret.

As an entrepreneur, you know how personal information can be invaded. For this reason, teach your children how to stay as safe as they can on line. Help them configure privacy settings on social networks and set private browsing configurations. When you take the time to work with them, you may also learn how to do it for yourself.

5. Set up kid-safe browsers for your children.

It is widely-spread among parents to install special secure browsers for kids. Kid-friendly search engine filters help to restrict children’s access to inappropriate content. Don’t forget to update the list of sites that are not allowed for your children. Among the most popular ones are Safe Search Kids, Kidsclick, Kidtopia, Kidpex, Kiddle.

6. Be sure you always update the antivirus software.

Children may not realize how malware works. Malware is harmful to all electronic devices. When a device is infected with a malware virus, it’s often costly and inconvenient to fix the damage. And, it takes valuable time to do so. Thus, always check if the antivirus is updated, or you may enable auto-updating.

7. Configure Virtual Private Network on your kid’s computer.

Virtual Private Network (VPN) will encrypt the Internet traffic going out of your child’s computer. Such internet connections are protected and considered to be more private as the transferred information is hidden from prying eyes. The internet has even changed the workplace.

8. Set time limits for online games.

Some online games are dangerous for immature minds. Firstly, you should censor games that your children play. Secondly, try to come to an agreement with your children on how long they are allowed to play online games. But don’t forbid them, it should be a meaningful talk.

9. Ask your children about their relationships with friends.

Try to give attention to your children. They should understand that you are not just their mom but also the best friend whom they may trust their secrets. Check-in with your kids to be sure they’re safe and know what to do in the face of bullying and shaming from peers. That’s why you should be the first person whom your child will go to for advice.

10. Don’t allow your children to surf the Internet for too long.

Children use so many gadgets, it seems that most can easily become Internet-addicted. Parents should explain that the Internet is not the only place for entertainment. Work with your kids to set boundaries on time and block sites that are inappropriate. Teach your kids to connect in real life by providing opportunities for them to have play dates and activities with others. Online virtual relationships should not ever be a substitute for real-world experiences.

Thanks so much to Saura Bala for being our guest blogger today!

Saura Bala is an enthusiastic mom who is interested in Internet safety for children. She has studied a lot of information to protect her kids’ online safety. She is willing to involve other parents to do the same for their kids as well.