How to Keep Your Child Safe On the Internet?
Posted by Strategic Communications, JGI Group on 29 Nov 2021

In 2016 Center for Cyber Safety and Education released a report “Children’s Internet Usage Study” that studied the behavior of the school students of the United States belonging to the group of 4th - to 8th-grade. The results were terrifying

• 40% of children chatted online with strangers
• 53% of students shared their number with strangers.
• 15 % of the surveyed kids tried to meet with strangers.
• 6% of the kids shared their home addresses.

The same report further revealed that:

• 29% of kids use the internet in ways that parents won’t approve
• 21% of kids log onto sites where they can chat with strangers
• 17% of kids are visiting sites with objectionable content.
• 11% of the kids even looked for instructions about cheating on schoolwork
• 4% were found to visit gambling sites.

Internet, while it has a lot of perks, it has its dark side as well. Internet is swarming with the unseen dangers of identity theft, data hacks, monetary frauds, etc., traps are laid in form of unsecured sites, phishing sites, and lots more. While adults we know to keep ourselves safe, but children being vulnerable fall prey to these sites.

Some people believe that implementing controls on internal usage can be extensively technical which is not always true. There are many other ways in which you can keep your child safe on the internet we have listed some of them as below:

Set filters of search engine
Search engine like Google comes with filters and once you set them, Google will block all the sited with explicit objectionable content. Kids are tech-savvy these days, so be sure to check regularly if the filters are set properly.

Use the power of the browser
If you are doubtful about the performance of your Internet Safety Protocol (ISP) you can use the power of your browser for safe internet browsing. All the web browser has safe surfing options like Internet explorer has Content Advisor that can filter language, violence and objectionable content. All other browsers Netscape, Safari, Google, and Firefox have safe surfing options try them to keep your child safe on the internet.

Talk to them
Spend some time with your kid, explain to them the dangers of the web and how they can fall prey to scams. Comfort them that you won’t blame them or react if they come to you for sharing any inappropriate or uncomfortable situation they have faced.

Be their guide in the cyber world
Involve with them and introduce them to the cyber world. Teach them to distinguish between a secured and an unsecured site and more about cybercrime traps.

The World Wide Web is a limitless ocean of information and kids are behaviorally curious about the world around them, and when they do not receive enough encouragement from their parents, they seek the help of the internet to gather information.

With the rising amount of internet and computer usage in our life of children, the task of keeping children safe on the internet is becoming a daunting task. As parents, it is our primary responsibility to talk with them and aware them of the dangers of the internet.