Thousands of cyberattacks happen every day, and unfortunately, a big chunk of them is targeting our kids.
In fact, there were 20% more child victims of cybercrime in 2022 than a year before, according to the FBI.
As a parent, it’s your responsibility to keep your children safe.
But keeping them safe from head bumps, scraped knees, and heartbreaks is challenging enough. So how can you defend your kids from a digital universe full of threats you can’t control?
Here are six habits you can implement to help protect your children from potential cyberthreats.
1. Educate Your Children on Online Protection
Teaching your children about online protection will help them make better decisions when browsing the web.
Instruct your children not to share any personal information, especially not their identity, location, where they go to school, or their home address.
Explain to your children that clicking digital ads or opening unknown links can lead to infecting their digital devices.
Alert your children to the dangers of talking to strangers online. Not everyone online tells the truth about who they are; many scammers target children online.
2. Keep Them Safe With Parental Controls
Parental controls are a great way to protect your children from age-inappropriate content. At the same time, it gives you control over the time your little one spends consuming content.
You can access these controls on digital devices, in your internet browser settings, and in many popular apps and online platforms, such as Instagram and YouTube Kids.
3. Set Digital Ground Rules
Rules and boundaries are important, even especially online.
Explain to your children why having ground rules, such as limited screen time, asking permission before downloading apps, or using devices in shared spaces, is important for their safety.
4. Encourage Open Communication
It is crucial to have open communication about your child’s digital life so you can take action for their protection if necessary.
Ensure your kids feel confident enough to tell you anything that might be a concern. For instance, if they saw something that upset them or a stranger attempted to contact them.
5. Be an Online Protection Role Model
The easiest way to be a good digital role model is to maintain safe digital habits yourself.
For example, following the same ground rules for your kids and not sharing personal information on social media.
If your children see you maintaining healthy digital habits, they will be more inclined to take their online protection seriously.
6. Regularly Monitor Their Online Activity
Monitoring your child’s online activity is important for their online protection.
Ensure they are having safe interactions with individuals online, not sharing their sensitive information or visiting dangerous websites. Remind your children about healthy online habits if you notice any unsafe practices.
Securing Your Child’s Digital World
Smart online habits are a good start. Unfortunately, if your home’s internet connection isn’t secure, your family may be vulnerable to security threats.
Here’s what you can do to enhance your family’s online security:
- Keep all devices and software updated regularly to ensure you are covered by the latest security updates.
- Use a VPN to encrypt your family’s online information and get better online protection from cyberthreats.
- Use strong, unique passwords for all user accounts.
Conclusion
As your children grow, so will their online presence.
It’s vital to share the best security practices with your children and teach them about safety online.
You can reach this through education, open communication, ground rules, and monitoring their online activity.
At the same time, staying up to date with the software updates and utilizing tools like parental controls will add an extra layer of protection for your little ones while on the internet.
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