So how can you keep your child safe from online predators this school year?
Here are a few tips you can start implementing today:
1. Check your child’s internet activity
It’s a good practice to review your child’s internet activity every few months to see how s/he is spending his/her time online. See any suspicious or malicious sites? Block them. Has your child entered any sensitive information or fallen prey to a scam? These periodic checks can allow you to better safeguard your children against online predators and any other predatory schemes that may be phishing for your child’s or your family’s personal information.
2. Keep their social profiles private
Kids these days love their social media, so whether or not you like it—or even know about it—they’ll probably end up with profiles on numerous social sites. In order to keep them safe, ensure their profile settings are set to private, not public, and that their posts/updates are only seen by friends. This will keep their profiles and any of their information from being seen by the general public.
3. Give them freedom, but help them understand the risks of the internet
Living our lives online is simply a fact of modern life, so it’s important that you let your kids explore the digital world. However, it’s also important that they understand the inherent risks of doing so. Maybe share a personal story of how you’d been scammed before, or how your information was used by someone else. Making it real and relatable can help kids more easily understand how things can go wrong online.
By taking these necessary precautions, your children will be less vulnerable when it comes to online predators this school year.