Online Safety

 In this digital world, our children are in front of a screen sometimes as soon as they can crawl.  Kids are learning quickly about how to find their favorite shows and games online but do they know how to stay safe when they are on their tablet or phone?  

As children navigate the worldwide web, it's just like they are wandering around their neighborhood streets.  It's crucial that we monitor them so they don't find themselves accidentally lost in a place that really isn't safe for them.  A couple of tips for you as you manage your child's time online:

1.  Children should be monitored while on any online platform, just like you wouldn't let them wander all over town without supervision, you shouldn't let them all over the world unsupervised.  I would recommend charging devices in public areas like the kitchen or living room.    

2.  Talk to your kids about what they are viewing and playing online.  Make sure you know who they are friends with in these online social spaces - they should never be friends with someone online that they don't know in real life too.  

3.  It's ok to set limits on phones, to put in blockers so they can't access everything and to say no to certain apps you don't approve.  Kids need limits in order to stay safe.

Learn more about online safety and the variety of apps your kids are using on Common Sense Media.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Responsibility

 Getting your kids (whether they are kindergarteners or teenagers) out of the door in the morning and on their way to school can sometimes be the hardest time of day!  Tired kids can't find anything to wear, get grumpy with everyone, and seem to lose their lunchbox or backpack every day.  Those maddening mornings can be a great opportunity to teach responsibility if you back up just a little bit.   If children know it is their responsibility to do certain tasks every night and every morning, they can rise to the challenge of being more organized and taking more ownership for their behavior.  A simple evening routine chart can really help them get prepared for the next day.  You can include everything they need to do such as: brushing their teeth, washing their face or taking a bath, laying out clothes for tomorrow (this eliminates stressful decisions), putting their bag on a hook with their homework and lunchbox, and getting to bed at a reasonable time.  At school we are training s
Read more

Summer!

 At our family engagement activity, kids were able to create a bucket list of things to do over the summer.  There are only two more weeks until summer, so it's a good idea to think about how your kids will spend this time productively.  They need to rest, relax and enjoy summer but there are some things you can do to make it go smoothly.  Many children find too much open ended time to cause anxiety and will turn to excessive use of technology to handle the extra space in their day.   Plan activities to get out of the house and explore a bit each week.  It could be a regular play group, or friend time, a library visit or a day at the beach.  Sleep schedules can get a bit off during the summer too with extra daylight and warm evenings that are conducive to outside play.  It's a good idea to still have some reasonable parameters around bedtime and morning routines even in the summer.  Here are some fun things you could add to your to do list this summer: Make S'mores, go fish
Read more