This is a sponsored post by xpsny.
How to Keep Your Kids Safe in the Digital World
Parents want to be sure that their kids are well behaved, honest, intelligent and disciplined when it comes to using technology. Being a mom, I understand your concern. I have been dealing with kids owning their own technology for a decade.
Technology is no longer a privilege, it is a life necessity. You cannot keep kids from technology, but we do need to be vigilant about finding solutions to keep them from online dangers such as bullying, harassment, body shaming, pornography and other digital harms. Something that will be in your control is to make rules to help them navigate through the digital world. Children are learning from us. It is our responsibility to keep them safe and also to teach them how to be safe.
Some parents directly approach the monitoring app for cellphone to take control of the digital activities of their kids but that’s not enough. I suggest parents to follow the right techniques to take charge of the online activities of their kids. Here, what you can do:
Limit the screen time
It is not just the use of internet that you are supposed to limit, you must limit the entire screen time. Excessive screen exposure is just not healthy. Don’t just put a screen time on using phone and laptop, put one for video games and TV too. If your child is young, you will be at an advantage to control the screen time and as they get older the rules will already be set in place. Hopefully limiting screen time will become a habit that they carry on as teens and adults.
Use technology for constructive purposes
Teach them how to use technology for constructive purposes. It is great for reading, learning new things and even enhancing analytical skills. My daughter uses the internet to learn complex songs on the keyboard, for example. So help your child see that internet is not just a place to have fun, but to learn a ton of new things too! They will be encouraged to spend their time online doing constructive learning. They will learn to utilize resources to enhance their own knowledge.
Use a monitoring app for cellphone
Trust me, if you are dealing with a teenager, a monitoring app for cellphone will be like a protective shield. What can be a better blessing for parents knowing that their kids are safe? I will tell you how I am using a monitoring app for my teen. So, my daughter Lindsey has gone to a different state where she is working as a freelance artist. I am a huge worrier and so we came to an agreement that I am going to be keeping in touch with her via xnspy.
I use Xnspy to track her locations, know where she is and where she went. I have even restricted some locations because I know the city is full of temptations. I do not use this to monitor her every move or to impede on her privacy, but if I don’t hear back from her or am worried about where she is, I have a resource to make sure that she is in places that make sense for her and that she is going on her own free will and not being coerced into making bad decisions.
The cool thing about this monitoring app for cellphone is that it can record the surroundings and even phone call too. I have done that 2-3 times when she is in a place that I don’t recognize or when she doesn’t pick up my calls just to make sure that she is not in danger and that she is being treated well. It simply requires one command and the microphone of the target device turns on and starts the recording. I do not do this to spy. I do not want to know all of her personal business or intrude on her privacy. I just want to have a way to help know that she is safe or know that she may need my help and be able to protect her from so far away.
To me, Xnspy is more than just a monitoring app for cellphone. I am using it to check my teen sons text messages and even instant messenger chats from time to time. Kids these days can add just about any stranger to their friend’s list (but don’t add their parents) so you have to be careful. Even the smartest kids are no match for a skilled sexual predator.
He knows that I use Xnspy so maybe that helps him be a bit more honest in his decisions rather than give in to temptation to lie about his whereabouts or the people he is hanging out with.
Make Time for the Family
There should always be a family time and it shouldn’t be boring. Everybody (including the parents) should set their phones aside and spend some time together. Arrange some activities (they can be both indoors or outdoors). Go to the park, play games, goo on a bike ride or anything else you guys like to do together. Parents, just having dinner with your kids together is not enough. Your kids need to have a sense of belonging whenever it comes to spending family time together.
Educate them about the dangers of the internet
The internet is never safe. Your child can accidentally reach the sensitive sites or even chat rooms. If you haven’t been keeping an eye on what they are doing online, check out the stats below:
A report was published on the Nation’s Youth by Online Victimization. This study was conducted for NCMEC (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children). Here were the findings of the report:
- One out of four regular internet users (which are younger than 17) were exposed to unwanted sexual content
- One in five youngsters received online sexual solicitation
- One in seventeen users were harassed or threatened online
- One in thirty-three users received aggressive sexual solicitation which included a request for offline contact
So what should be done to prevent all this? To talk to them about the dangers but first, you have to establish a pattern of trusting, open dialog with your child. God forbid if your child has already been a victim of something bad online. Open the lines of communication so that they can come to you and talk. Otherwise, you won’t even know what’s going on in their life. You don’t want to find out that they have been a statistic after they are suffering and it’s too late.
- Tell them openly about what’s out there on the internet. There are lots of people out there who have terrible intentions. Your kids need to know they cannot trust anyone except the friends and family that they did not meet online.
- Let them know it is not safe to post personal information online. This includes your address, personal data, your locations and private photos. Even if their friends are doing it, they shouldn’t be following their footsteps. Tell your kids that they can use their knowledge to give advice to their friends and help other kids stay safe as well.
Parents should start making rules about digital monitoring when their kids are very young because if you start putting restrictions, later on, your kids may not accept them. Other than this, work on your relationship with your kids. Build a trust so that whenever they come across something inappropriate, they come and tell you about it instead of keeping it to themselves or telling it to some friend who may not think it is unsafe and give them a wrong advice. Use technology to your and your child’s benefit to help keep them safe. Kids think that they are smarter than they really are. Kids often don’t know better until they are in bad situations. As parents we have to do everything we can to educate them and protect them.
