Parents have this big responsibility to protect their kids, from all sorts of dangers roaming around. Sometimes, they become so obsessed with their kids being safe, they end up suffocating them. No doubt, the digital world is full of threats and dangers. With the kids exploring every corner of the world, it is much easier for them to fall prey to such dangers.
Parents are all justified to use a parental control app and other precautionary measures to keep their kids safe. But, somehow they forget that kids are kids, they want to play and have fun. In protecting them, there are some things that parents do mistakenly and then face bad consequences. Let’s take a look at some of the mistakes parents can make and how they can fix them.
1. Making ‘Screen Time Limit’ Their Top Priority
No doubt the more kids get stick to their smartphones, the more they are prone to explore new and dangerous things. Or the worse, they might be already addicted to something that keeps them busy in their smart devices all the time. Either way, it is understandable that the situation is difficult to comprehend.
But there are some solutions to this problem than only focus on screen time management. Most parents are obsessed with this idea that if they limit the time kids spend in front of the computer, the more protected the kids will be.
The truth is that even if you give them 1-2 hours, they will manage to do all they can in that time limit. Be it watching pornography, violence, texting with some stranger, or playing games. The best thing to do is to keep a lower hand on screen time and know what sites they are visiting so that you can know what content they see.
2. Not Teaching Them the Password Protocol
Being parents, we have a lot of important documents, information, assets, and other stuff to protect. So, we use strong passwords everywhere required to keep them safe. This is what we don’t teach our kids.
The most important element in protecting them is to teach them a thing or two about privacy. In that are, choosing a wise password for the social media account and other platforms is necessary. Also, we forget to tell them how important it is to not to share their passwords with anyone. Kids do this mistake most of the time.
3. Leaving Their Devices Unprotected
Phishing attacks happen with most of the adults even after they have protected their accounts. If adults are susceptible to such danger, think about the children who are not even aware of such dangers out there. They are inclined towards clicking every link and opening any mail they receive.
If you don’t think that such ignorance can haunt you back, then you are surely mistaken. To fix this, install antivirus on their devices and set spam filters on their mails. Also, the use of parental control software can ensure that your kid doesn’t open up such websites and stuff.
4. Not Having The ‘Conversation’ With Them
Parents get all confused and frustrated when they have to talk to their kids about pornography and other dangerous stuff. Most of the time, parents leave this matter on the kids and put the restrictions anyway thinking that this will protect them.
If you leave your kids open to make an opinion about the internet from their experiences, you might regret this decision. Although they need to find their ways into a better life, it is the responsibility of the parents to keep a good track on them.
The internet is full of things that are harmful to kids. Some things must be taught beforehand to save them from the worst consequences. They will not understand this on their own. They need their parents to tell them how dangerous things can be. Because it is not some sort of experiment, it is their lives that can be ruined by even a single cyberbullying case.
5. Not Using a Parental Control App
Parents often get this idea that they don’t need to restrict their kids at all. The more they will feel the freedom, the more they will learn the better. Unfortunately, it is not the case. Freedom should be given to them but at the same time, some things must be done to protect them.
Most parents are not even aware of any parental control software out there. They think just some family rules and authoritative behavior will suffice. This might be true for the past decades, but now the generation has evolved. They know how to dodge their parents and use their smartphones at bed for everything they want to do.
Using a parental control app is a smart choice. A parental control app not only lets you monitor them closely and know what they are up to, but it also protects them according to the instructions you give. You can even put keywords in this app to make sure your kid doesn’t get anything when searching for that keyword.
You can even add porn websites to be blocked. You can see their web history, call logs, and text history as well. Not only this, you can monitor their social media platforms to see if they are not facing anything dangerous there.
There is a lot you can do with a parental control app. Not using it won’t be a smart choice. With this, you need to keep a good eye on their behavioral and habitual changes. Everything they experience is visible in their attitudes at this stage of their lives. It just requires keen eyes to notice that.
Parents, in being worried about their teen safety, often lose track of their age and physical changes. There should be counseling on the side regularly to make sure they understand themselves and the changes happening to them. If you leave them on their own, they might seek unhealthy ways to deal with their present situations.
http://www.vxenetworks.com/7-mistakes-parents-make-in-their-kids-online-safety/
https://www.journalofplay.org/sites/www.journalofplay.org/files/pdf-articles/3-4-interview-marano-skenazy.pdf
https://www.welivesecurity.com/2018/06/01/protecting-kids-online/