With the explosion of tablets and smartphones, it can be tough to keep your kids cyber-safe. Here are some tips:
- Make an effort to understand the basics of the technology that your child will be using on a daily basis.
- Talk to your kids about technology, particularly Internet safety.
- Know what technology your kids use, what games they play, which websites they visit and who they're communicating with.
- Ask your child to show you how his tech toys work and what he and his friends do with them.
- Help your child understand what inappropriate behavior is.
- Buy a family computer and keep it in a public place in the home. Encourage your children to regard it as a resource for everyone to use. Give each of them separate IDs and passwords, so they have a sense of ownership and privacy.
- Use Internet filtering or monitoring software.
- Teach your children not to open unknown or suspicious files. Help your child understand what a suspicious file looks like.
- Talk to other parents about your children's technology experiences and online safety.
