Are your children safe on the internet?

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The internet is full of people, places and information. 

Just like life, there are good people, bad people, good places, bad places, and things you don't want to see or know.   

By and large the good tends to outnumber the bad, but navigating the internet safely can be tricky. 

The bad people can shout louder and more savagely on the internet because they can hide behind a level of anonymity.  This is a perfect place for cyber bullies to hide and harass people especially young children and teenagers who are dealing with all the challenges of growing and learning about life.  I'll go much deeper into cyber bullying in future posts but suffice to say it is a big concern for anyone who has a social presence online, even adults.  

Top things to be aware of when your kids are using an internet connected device (phone, tablet, game console, computer.)

Where do they go online for entertainment?

What are they watching online?

What games are they playing? 
   Are they playing online games? 
   Are they talking to other players online?

How do they act when they watch or play games, what do they take away from their online interactions? 

My son likes to watch videos of people coloring alphabets or making shapes with kinetic sand or playing with toys.   My wife and I are always aware of what he is watching.   We are always listening.   We also set limits on the amount of time he can spend watching videos, playing games, and reading on the tablet.  My son is 6 and not yet exploring anything beyond what pops up next on You Tube in the suggestions which is usually more kids videos.  Sadly, one time I let Shopkins slip through and I finally realized there is something worse than SpongeBob, Which is far worse than Barney. 

Anyway,  Every tablet, phone, computer, browser has some capacity to filter or limit content.   In some upcoming posts I'll explore some of the basics you can do to help keep your kids safe and make use of the built in features on your devices.   



But there are other issues of safety to think about.

What, where and how you spend money? 
Are kids allowed to spend money using their device? 
Are they revealing Personally Identifiable Information about themselves?
Do they give away information like full name, home address, etc? 

We will explore some of the what ifs and why they should be cautious in future posts. 

Thank you for reading.

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