take their stories from head to paper,
working at their own pace and time.
Internet Safety For Children
Internet safety? Yes the internet is both a wonderful and scary place for everyone. It is the fastest-growing technology known to man and rightly so. It is the base of other technologies. Many parents want their children to use the internet but with safety measures in place.
According to Our World In Data, in the year 2000, only 413 million persons worldwide used the internet. But by 2016, 3.4 billion persons. And it IS much higher now, especially since the pandemic. And more children use the internet in some places than adults.
Why should we look at internet safety for our little ones? Many of the things kids do these days are online. As an author, I encourage children to read my Kindle books so, they must have access to the internet but not without parental control for the following reasons:
Internet Safety For Kids? Why You Should Be Concern
- Threat from scammers. Scammers often target the most vulnerable amongst us and is therefore not surprising that children are easy targets. They tell them of “free” stuff that requires some payment to unlock the “free”. Be on top of it. Decide how much you want your child to do online. Set age-appropriate limits and work out how to enforce your decision. Kindly educate your child about the dangers on the internet. Let them know there are people out there who steal other people’s information, to defraud them.
- Cyberbullying. Cyber-bullying is the sending of threatening messages and insults through instant messages. It is a growing trend. Many of us now use the internet for most things. Bullies also shift their bullying from face to face to hiding behind a screen. It is a sad reality online. Hence, we need to protect our children who may not report in good time and may lead to damaging consequences.
- Viewing inappropriate material Online. Even adults sometimes stumble into inappropriate content that they are not searching for online. Children are not mature enough to know what to shun and what to view. This might lead them to websites where paedophiles and other irresponsible adults prey on young children. We need to protect them from getting hurt. This leads to the next item:
- Personal information. Teach your children not to give anyone their details or send photos of themselves to starngers online. They should know the internet is full of pretenders. Some adults pretend to be children to harm little ones.
- And finally, teach themwhat they do today could affect them tomorrow. Employers now check the online activities of people they want to employ and may not be impressed by disgraceful conduct on the internet. One silliness online could cost a child a lifetime of sorrow. Certainly worth warning them about this.
The internet is an amazing technology that has changed the way we do things in modern times. It has made life so much easier and enjoyable to a large extent. But we are aware of the dark side of this technology.
Stay in control of the use of the internet in your home. Employ parental control software. Many anti virus softwares come with some parental contarol features, check with your provider so you know what you may already have or get something like the circle if you do not already have one.
Education is the key to safety. If we educate our children about the dangers, they will be alert when online and will use this tool, in the safest way possible. Internet safety is possible with the rigt measure in place. Stay safe online.
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