3. Research and Watch: Review your child’s browsing history. Engage them in questions about the sites they visit, who their online “friends” are and go as far as sitting alongside them to see for yourself. Check to see if these sites have ratings, parental controls, and reviews to establish their credibility.
4. Continually Share About Online Dangers: Consistency is key in this area. Just because you tell your child one time there are online dangers doesn’t mean they will remember. The temptations and distractions are constantly there. Remind them over and over again that they should never share any personal information, tell where they go to school or download pictures of themselves.
This is also true for sharing passwords or opening attachments that are from strange email addresses. Regularly ask them questions about online responsibility to keep it in the forefront of their minds.
5. Watch Your Online Habits: Your kids are watching you and as their mentor, pay attention to your daily online habits. Just as you tell them, limit the time you spend online. Reducing the amount of time you spend online will result in more time to spend with your children and create a healthy balance of other activities.
These habits will eventually set a positive example for your entire family. Implement these online time limits at an early age and they will form positive relationships with their electronic devices and be able to safely enjoy the internet for all the good it offers.
Susan McCullah is an established writer who has created dozens of informative articles about credit scoring, identity theft, budgeting, taxes, debt, and finance. She has worked in the Credit Reporting industry for 15+ years and is FCRA certified. Susan regularly conducts in-person presentations and webinars on the topics of credit scoring formulation, raising credit scores, and identity theft.
