It is not uncommon to find a child throwing a tantrum over not being allowed to use the internet. Another usual scenario that parents face nowadays is that phones and the internet are seemingly the only things that could calm down an upset child. These cases have given rise to the debate of whether or not it’s a good move to give your children access to the internet. And to what extent?
Arguably, owning a phone in this day and age is important not only for staying relevant in the social media but also for safety and emergency contacts. The internet can be so addicting, and if you don’t set some boundaries on what they can and can’t do, it might prove to be very dangerous for them. So if you’re thinking of giving your child a phone, here are some online security guidelines from Kidovations, a childcare center in Georgia, on how to safely navigate the internet:
- Teach them the meaning of privacy
Privacy involves knowing which personal information you could share with other people and which information is best kept to oneself. Ideally, personal information shouldn’t even be shared in the first place. The dawn of the internet, however, ushered in an era of unchecked sharing.
As a general rule, personal information should not be given out without the parents’ consent. Likewise, parents should be responsible enough to know the limitations of internet sharing.
- Teach them control
Children should be taught how to reevaluate their decisions and avoid acting based on impulse. In the setting of the internet and social media, this rule simply translates to something like “Rude comments should not be entertained.”
It is safe to introduce the concept of trolling to them, not so they could do it to other people, but to demonstrate how trolls destroy the order of the internet. Trolling could come in the form of comments and sometimes even spam messages. Control and caution, in the modern sense of the words, means being calm and collected in the face of trolling, and definitely something worth teaching your children.
- Teach them respect
As a member of the online community, you should also see to it that your children’s posts and comments would not hurt other people. The internet is an excellent resource of ideas and information, but if used in the wrong way, it could back-fire and even become a threat to your child’s safety.
Respect is about being open to other people’s opinions instead of bringing them down. It is about acceptance of what makes us different instead of focusing on its negativities.
Experiences from childhood have a great impact on a child’s future well-being, and it is our jobs, as their parents and guardians, to be proactive in monitoring their development. Stay safe everyone!
This is a friendly reminder from Kidovations Educational Experience, a preschool facility that provides child care in Statesboro Georgia. We’d like to know how we could assist your child. Send us a message at info@kidovations.com to submit your inquiries or other concerns. We look forward to working with you!