We live in a digital world, and our kids are becoming increasingly tech-savvy, necessitating the need for vigilant security to keep them safe from online abuse. Social media is an excellent place for your children to keep up with friends and family, stay on top of trends, and follow their favorite products and shows. Below is a list of ways to keep your kids safe from social media.
Get An Education
Most parents may be lagging on matters relating to the latest internet technology. Children today have multiple social media options to publish personal information or download music illegally and legally.
Parents and guardians should educate themselves on the recent technological advancements to learn how the system works. Motherhood Community provides additional information on practical parenting tips to enhance children’s good behavior.
Educate Them On Social Media Risks
While social media platforms promise us a more profitable future as resources available on these platforms, social media are also highlighted with risks and difficult-to-control characteristics alike.
Before your children get exposed, warn them about potential violence, bullying, and cyberbullying that they may meet online. Train your kids on how they inspect experiences presented and also lead them to watch out for predators who may pose a threat to their safety.
Restrict access to platforms and drugs that can be used to influence them nearly everywhere. Let your kids understand that there are characters on social media who may prey on them to prevent things from escalating and becoming serious.
Follow The Required Age Limit Guidelines
All social media platforms have minimum age requirements before signing up for an account to protect young people’s and children’s privacy. Ensure you follow the guidelines and only give the green light to kids who have attained the required age to create a social media account.
It may be difficult to enforce the rules on your kids as some of their friends may have social media accounts. It is essential to ask them to avoid such sites until they reach a certain age.
Suppose your child is of age and wants to sign up for a social media platform before being old enough. In that case, you should devise alternative ways to monitor and limit online activities with the help of parental controls.
Ensure you get the best parental controls to protect your kids and your family. Find the best ways to keep them safe while online by understanding how to use parental controls even if you don’t have the technical know-how.
Update Your Kid’s Privacy Settings
Staying up to date with your child’s privacy settings is essential. Some social media platforms make profiles public, so checking out privacy customization options is crucial before creating an account for your teen. Check the privacy settings on each social media platform and update the listed items regularly.
Private Profile
If your kid signs up for a social media platform that utilizes this option, you should encourage its use. A private profile limits your teen’s public information, minimizing the possibility of the data falling into the wrong hands. It would help if you also talk to your kids about canceling friend requests from individuals they aren’t familiar with.
Personal Information
Utilize privacy settings to ensure the social media platforms don’t showcase your child’s birthday, name, phone number, age, and other information that may target them. Keep note of the kind of information they post on the platforms and let them know it’s not good to invite people to a birthday party or publicly post your home address.
Establish Rules For Social Media Use
Set the ground rules for your kids about the accounts they follow, what they can post, and how frequently they access social media platforms. Discuss the set ground rules with them and communicate the penalties they may receive if they fail to observe the guidelines.
Ensure they’re aware of various consequences of online behavior to instill a sense of responsibility on social media platforms. Rules are an effective way of keeping your child safe from social media and avoiding unnecessary online interactions all day long.
Enforce the rules correctly, ensure you’re consistent, and allow them to communicate with you when an uncomfortable situation happens.
Maintain An Open Communication Channel With Your Kids
By engaging in an open dialogue with your kids, you can effectively protect them from social media harm. Be watchful of the friends they talk to online and talk to them about the type of friends they communicate with on social media platforms.
Let your children know that you’re there to help them stay safe, so they can trust you and develop a long-lasting relationship. Teach your teens about the dangers of sharing private information on social media platforms; remind them to check what they want to post at least twice before sharing it online.
Your kids should never share their phone numbers, addresses, personal information, or school names online. Ask them to avoid sharing their social media account passwords with anyone else.
Parents can set the rules to limit social media use for their kids. Ensure you set a good example via your online behavior to safely guide your child in using social media.
Beware of the friends your kids talk to online, and talk to them about the kind of friends they communicate with on social media platforms. Let your children know that you’re there to help them stay safe, and that they can trust you to help them have a long-lasting relationship.
Teach your teens about the dangers of sharing private information on social media platforms. Advise them to check what they want to post at least twice before sharing it on the internet.
Kids should never share their phone numbers, addresses, personal information, or school names online. Ask them to avoid sharing their social media account passwords with anyone else.
Parents can lay the ground rules to limit social media use for their kids. Ensure you set a good example by practicing safe online behavior yourself. This will help your child use social media safely.
