Protecting your children is one of your most important responsibilities as a parent. With parental instincts wanting to shield them not only from physical harm but emotional and psychological harm too, this is no easy task, particularly in the digital age.
Access to content that impressionable children shouldn’t see is widely available online. Although many websites, like top operators available in PA, take steps to mitigate access to content reserved for adults, kids often have a way to accidentally or purposefully find this content.
Therefore, it is a parent’s responsibility to monitor their children to see what they are being exposed to, who they are talking to, and what they are doing online. Below, we’ve outlined exactly why doing this is crucial to protecting your children and their well-being as they grow up.
Significant Dangers Found Online
The primary reason parents should monitor their children’s online interactions is the various dangers present when accessing the internet. Ranging from mild to severe, they could permanently alter your child’s outlook on life and even put them in physical danger.
Cyberbullying
Among the most commonly referenced dangers is cyberbullying. A 2022 report revealed that almost half of the teenagers in the USA had experienced cyberbullying—mostly due to their appearance but also simply because the aggressor sought to abuse them online.
A common misconception about cyberbullying is that it can only take the form of harsh words being spoken. The reality is that it comes in many more forms, including harassment, spreading rumors about somebody, swatting, and even the purposeful exclusion of somebody in group conversations or games.
Cyberbullying has been proven to cause long-lasting emotional scars. It is also linked to lowered self-esteem, depression, and, in severe cases, suicidal thoughts.
Predators
Due to the ability to appear as anybody online, many predators prefer to lurk online rather than playgrounds like was more common in the past. They can seek out children and target them through an innocent message saying hello.
Once a connection has been made, these predators groom the children—often for sexual purposes. These could result in the children being requested to send explicit images, or in the worst cases, could lead to children meeting them and being sexually abused physically.
Inappropriate Content
Aside from predators and bullies, the internet is filled with inappropriate content ranging from pornography to violent content that can have an effect on impressionable minds. Hate speech that targets particular groups is also prevalent on many forums.
This content can have long-lasting traumatic effects on children and can change the way they understand the world—instilling prejudices against groups without any clear understanding of why. Often, they can carry this over into adult life.
Privacy
Another danger that children can encounter online is a violation of their privacy. Being young and naive, many children don’t grasp the importance of keeping certain information, such as their home address, private.
Openly sharing this information with strangers on the internet can lead to dangers, such as predators or those with ill intent coming knocking at the door. Sharing their parents’ information can also lead to risks, including identity theft.
How to Monitor Your Child’s Digital Life
Developers and website owners have taken many steps to mitigate the above risks and help those parenting in the digital age. While these measures have good intent, they only work when parents utilize them to ensure their children’s safety.
Some methods involve doing things that don’t involve relying on a company’s tools to ensure your child’s safety. These methods rely more on your relationship with your child and the values you instill in them.
Communication
The best way to monitor your child and help them understand what is and isn’t acceptable online is to have open communication about it. This foundation of having a safe platform to speak and be heard lets your kids know they can come and discuss something with you if they’re uncomfortable with something they’ve seen or had said to them.
While tools can help you monitor what your child is seeing, they are not foolproof. Therefore, communicating with your child and encouraging them to share their online experiences with you remain the best way to protect them.
Establish Rules
In addition to communication, establishing clear rules for your children and explaining why you implement them can help them avoid danger. Approaches like limiting their time online, only allowing them to browse the internet when you are around, and informing them what information they shouldn’t share can help mitigate some risks.
Although establishing clear rules can help, it is important for parents to understand that their children may test or break these rules. Therefore, using this method to protect your children should be done in conjunction with other methods.
Make Use of Parental Controls
Almost all operating systems, including Windows, Android, and iOS, have extensive parental control facilities that parents can use to ensure their child’s access is limited to media that cannot harm them.
When giving your children a device with internet access, ensure that your first task is to set up parental controls. However, don’t rely solely on them, as certain things may still get through the filters, such as when YouTube Kids allowed adult content and prompted a mass exodus to other kid-friendly streaming apps.
Educate Yourself
The final way to protect your child is to know what is out there and accessible to them. Staying up to date on what apps are popular, what is trending, and what new risks have been identified can help you recognize if your children are accessing this content.
Knowing what’s current also allows you to communicate with your children and warn them to avoid certain things—even if they are popular.
Conclusion
Digital platforms can have wonderful advantages for helping your children learn, explore, and experience new things—something unique to current generations. However, this ability carries severe risks that needn’t be worried about in the past.
By understanding the dangers present and actively taking steps to mitigate the associated risks, you can ensure your children benefit from the internet’s benefits while avoiding its downsides.