You may or may not have heard (;-)), but I have a 10-year-old son. He has both a computer and an iPad for school, and his teachers are always impressed with how well he handles technology. I guess when you have a nerd for a mom, there’s not much you can do….
Still, while I love technology, and we embrace it in our lives, it also worries me. Does he spend too much time on the computer/iPad? What is he looking at? I can’t monitor him all the time, and even if I could, he has to learn at some point what’s right and wrong. So, how I can keep him safe from all the threats that are out there: cyberbullying, seeing content that’s inappropriate, but also, educating him about what to do when he does come across something questionable.
Here are a list of some tools you can use to help educate and keep your kids safe.
Teaching them how to deal with questionable content and cyberbullying: a brand new program launched by the telecommunications corporation, Telus Wise is a kind of online community that offers educational courses and also forums where you can interact with other parents and learn more tools and techniques on how to keep your kids safe. There is also a separate site for kids. It’s pretty comprehensive.
Blocking questionable content: there are a myriad of blocking software options out there. There are ones you can buy, like Net Nanny, but many browsers have built-in safety options. You can, for example, enable safety settings on YouTube. Another option is to download a kid-friendly browser (which have safety features built in).
Time-limits: if you are concerned that you kid might be spending too much time playing Minecraft, you can use an app like Parent Timelock, which gives your kids a time limit, and once they’ve reached it, shuts the iPad down.
See also: 12 Tools to Keep Your Kids Safe Online